Another Mystery Free Holiday
by RussM
Summary: After collapsing from exhaustion Velma is ordered by her doctor to take a holiday, a mystery-free holiday that is. Pretty much the same story as the other Mystery Free Holiday but without the femslash, the preaamble explains why.
1. Orange Lady Down

**Preamble**

When I started working on the story I had intended to make Velma's relationship with the other character ambiguous, leaving up to the reader to decide for themselves the precise nature of the Velma's relationship. It didn't turn out that way in the end and I ended up with parallel stories. As the femslash version had gained more traction I finished that one first. As I never intended the femslash component of the story to be, how shall we say, detailed, there was very little to change. So if you have read the first then this story won't hold any real surprises and vice-versa. As with the first all but one of the gang's partners are OC's but they never get much of a look in.

**Chapter 1: Orange Lady Down**

It was 8am Sunday morning, a time which for Daphne existed only as an abstract concept if she could at all help it. She was half awake daydreaming about her forthcoming wedding, trying to imagine Velma in a lilac dress and what it would take to feed Shaggy and Scooby at the reception though the latter was turning more into a comic nightmare than anything else. Before she knew what was happening Daphne had her cell phone in her hand. A few seconds into the call she was sitting bolt upright and fully awake. The moment that call had finished she called Fred.

"What's wrong Daph?" for Daphne to be calling this early in the morning there had to be something wrong.

"Suki called, Velma collapsed and fell down the stairs..."

"Oh no, where is she now?"

"Coolsville General, Suki's there with her and her parents are on the way, she's not badly hurt but Velma's got to listen this time."

"I hope so Daph, you get over there, I'll give Shag a call and pick him up on the way."

Barely pausing to get changed Daphne rushed down stairs where her fiancé was getting breakfast ready in preparation for his trip to Coolsville General where he was a radiographer.

"Morning Daph, what's wrong? Who was on the phone?"

"Suki, Velma's just collapsed; she's been taken to Coolsville."

"That doesn't sound good but Jimi's the trauma team leader this morning so she's in good hands. Let's grab breakfast to go and head over there now."

"Thanks sweetie" said Daphne giving him a kiss on the cheek

At the hospital it was quickly determined that Velma had come to no real harm aside from some bumps and a few spectacular bruises on her hip and thigh so she was moved into a room to be kept under observation for a while just to be the safe side. Once all the prodding and poking had finished it was just a case of counting ceiling tiles and waiting. Velma stretched herself and closed her eyes because of the pain. She relaxed and the pain eased, opening her eyes again she saw Suki looking at her, fresh worry and concern written over her face. It hurt to see Suki so worried, it broke her heart to know that it was her own stubbornness that had caused it.

"I'm so sorry Suki. It's my fault, I'm too stubborn..." Velma whispered, Suki squeezed her hand.

"Shh Velma, don't worry, your not hurt and that's all that matters."

"Thanks Suki, you're the best."

Velma's parents entered her room carrying some drinks for them all.

"Sorry the drinks are a bit cold we got lost, this place is a maze. Good news Velma, we bumped into one of the doctors and they said you should be able to go home in a few more hours and we've just seen the rest of your friends arrive" said her Father

"Thanks Dad" Velma sighed.

"That's good to hear" said Suki breathing a sigh of relief, smiling at Velma's parents. While Suki was distracted Velma looked at her; her long silky jet-black hair glistened as the morning light came in through the window, her jade-green eyes perfectly framed by thin metal glasses now shone once more with happiness. Velma felt her insides warm at the sight, anything was better than how Suki had looked this morning.

Daphne had rushed ahead from the others to be with one of her oldest friends. She entered the room and was greeted by a host of smiles. There she was, Suki McPhearson, Velma's house-mate and one of her closest friends. They had bumped into Velma whilst they were both at graduate school and had just clicked with each other. Initially Daphne had felt a bit threatened by Suki's friendship with Velma but in the few years since being introduced to the gang she had become an integral part of their lives. It was through Suki that Daphne had met her now fiancé and Fred had met his girlfriend, both of whom worked at Coolsville General as did Suki. Much to Daphne's approval Velma's wardrobe had also improved; Suki was slightly taller than Velma but had the pretty much the same figure so Velma just borrowed Suki's clothes and instead spent the money on books.

As expected Velma was discharged from hospital late that afternoon and the gang came round to help out. Suki and Velma's mother concentrated on looking after Velma, Velma's father brought endless cups of tea and coffee to everyone while Shaggy and Scooby set to work cooking dinner. Fred and Daphne came in from the garden carrying in the washing that had been hung up that morning to find Suki looking through the medicine box, a white coat draped over her shoulder.

"A white coat? Suki, you're a PhD not an MD" said Daphne as Fred went to put the washing in the utility room.

"Close enough given what I studied. Anyway this is one of my hospital lab coats and strangely enough Velma's more likely to do as she's told if I wear a white coat than not" smiled Suki

"That's Velma for you. But you work in their pathology labs! Is it safe to wear near her given she's already ill"

"Sure it's been through the autoclave"

"What are those stains?" asked Fred as he re-entered the room. Suki took the coat off her shoulder and began to work through the various stains and marks

"Oh well this was a norovirus virus culture that got spilt, this was from something we found growing in a bottle in one of the cupboards in the lab, this is from an E. coli O157 culture, that's from a chocolate bar I left in the pocket, that's from some amoebic dysentery, this is a rather impressive acid stain..."

"Jeepers is it safe for _you_ to wear?" asked Daphne backing away slightly.

"Right we've got enough pain-killers and heat-rub should Velma need any and..." Suki sniffed the air while her stomach rumbled "...I think Shag has finished dinner. Thanks for all your help today"

"No problem Suki, you need to take care of Velma"

They were all crammed round the dining table as Shaggy came out of the kitchen carrying a large saucepan, Scooby followed carrying some bread rolls.

"Dr Shaggy coming through with the Rogers' family recipe chicken noodle soup for the patient and her guests" Shaggy walked over to the dining table carrying a large saucepan of soup

"Here you go Velma" Shaggy filled her bowl with soup making sure she had all the choice parts of the soup.

"Mmmmm that smells as good as ever Shag"

"Mr Dinkley, Mrs Dinkley"

"Thank you Norville dear"

"For you Suki"

"Thanks Shaggy"

"OK gang the rest of you can help yourselves so dig in" said Shaggy putting the huge saucepan down on the table.

Velma looked around at her friends and family as everyone tucked in and felt like crying. She knew this was a combination of tiredness making a hash of her emotions and the overwhelming care and attention she was getting. Rather than yelling at her or telling her off for being so silly, they were rallying round to support her. She knew she had to repay their kindness, and there was one obvious way. As hard as it was for her she resolved to do it, she would do as she was told. Shaggy was the master of comfort food, healthy nutritious comfort food in this case. All designed to fill Velma up and make her sleepy and soon everyone could tell it was working. Everyone quietly said their goodbyes leaving Suki with just one job to do.

"Come on, time for bed sleepy-head" said Suki putting her arm round Velma and leading her upstairs.

Velma had been instructed by the hospital to see her doctor as soon as the practice opened on Monday morning. Her mother had come round expecting to have to argue with her daughter to get her to go but when she arrived Velma was waiting, ready to go. Suki had arranged to work from home that afternoon so she could keep an eye on Velma. On her way out to work Suki told Velma's mother the news she'd been waiting to hear.

"I didn't even have to ask Velma to get ready. She knows deep down she has to do something"

"That's a relief; I know she feels bad about putting you through this"

"Tell me about it, I've lost count of the number of times she said sorry yesterday"

"Same here, well you've got to get to work. See you later Suki dear"

"See you"

Suki went to Velma and gave her a hug which Velma reciprocated

"See you this afternoon"

"OK, see you then. Have a good day."

Velma stared at the closed door and sighed.

"I'm so lucky to have Suki, oh and you too mother."

"Nice of you to notice dear" her mother chuckled, leading Velma out of the house

"I know but I still feel like I've been taking you, dad, Suki and the gang for granted. Not any more. Let's not keep the doctor waiting"

The doctor reviewed the notes and blood test results from hospital and gave Velma a general examination before pronouncing judgement.

"Well Ms Dinkley you are utterly exhausted, I know you like work but you have just ground your self down this past year. It also looks like you have picked up a low-level viral infection as well, your body is simply too tired to fight it off effectively."

"Guessed as much, I feel like I'm always going down with a cold"

"Plenty of fluids should help with the infection but..."

"I know, I need to ease off for a bit."

"No Ms Dinkley you must take a holiday, a complete break from everything. This is not a suggestion; this is my instruction to you. Next time you'll probably end up being hospitalised"

"OK doctor, I owe it as much to Suki as I do to myself. I'll start looking now." Inside Velma sagged; she could feel the tiredness take hold as she finally accepted that she was unwell. She got up and was about to open the door when her doctor called out to her.

"A mystery-free holiday Ms Dinkley, mystery-free."

"Jinkies I'll try" she said and left the doctors office.

"How was it Velma dear?" said her mother as she came out of the doctors' office. She stood up and walked over to Velma taking her by the arm.

"I _must_ take a holiday."

"Well, I've been saying that for ages."

"I know mother, but now it's a choice between holiday or hospital. This time I will."

"That's what you said last time."

"This time it's different. Now I'm affecting others, you, dad, Suki, the gang it's just not right it's not fair. Let's go holiday shopping"

_Finally_ her mother thought. Her daughter's stubbornness was one of the reasons she had been as successful as she was, the endless stream of government departments and companies requesting her services was proof of that, but it also had a destructive side which she had yet to fully master.

Late that afternoon Velma walked into Mystery Inc headquarters, holding onto Suki for support, she was really beginning to feel that tumble down the stairs now and her tiredness was making everything else ache. Velma didn't like to be beaten, not by a problem, nor a mystery but especially not by herself. But even she had to admit that sheer stubbornness wasn't going to see her through this time. However admitting to herself that she was ill had made her feel even worse, she slumped in an armchair; looking tired and haggard she gazed up at her friends and sighed.

"Right gang you'll get no arguments from me, even I have to admit I need a holiday after that scare."

"So what convinced you at last?" asked Daphne then immediately regretted it as she saw Velma bite her bottom lip and try to hold in the tears.

"Waking up wondering what I was doing at the bottom of the stairs then seeing Suki so scared and upset. Seeing Suki like that, that did it for me, I realised that I was hurting others by my stubbornness."

"So any ideas where you two want to go?" asked Fred rapidly changing the subject

"That's where you all come in. I need you to find me a place with no mysteries, but will be relaxing and interesting for us. I went holiday shopping with my mother and collected all these brochures" Suki then deposited a huge wedge of travel brochures on the table.

"I'll make sure Velma stays away from anything mysterious so don't you all worry" said Suki sitting on the arm of the chair and resting her arm round Velma's shoulders.

"Also it's going to be nice to spend some time with Suki, we haven't had a real holiday together for a while" said Velma resting her head on Suki's thigh.

"Half way through grad-school if I remember correctly, whale watching off the coast near Boston."

"Yes that was fantastic; jinkies was is that long ago?"

"Uh-uh"

"Oh I'm so sorry Suki, well it's just a couple of years since we left grad-school so this will be the holiday I promised we'd take to celebrate getting our doctorates."

"Like, you could have always come on holiday with us at any time Suki. Stop looking at me like that" said Shaggy pushing Scooby out in front of him for protection as Suki raised her eyebrows and gave him a hard stare at his suggestion.

"Are you serious? I've heard all about what happens on one of your "holidays" from Velma. Why do you think no-one will go on holiday with you all together?"

"She has a point Shag" said Fred as Daphne and Scooby nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, as much as I love going on holidays with you all a mystery is the last thing I need right now" said Velma

"Right, lets get stuck in" said Daphne as she handed out the brochures. Slowly they began to wade through the collection as they hunted for the perfect holiday.

"Velma what do you think of this island lake resort?" said Fred

"Velma? Vel-ma" said Shaggy waving his hand in front of her face. Velma had fallen asleep while reading one of the brochures with her head resting against Suki's thigh.

"She's well gone by the look of her Shag. Can I see instead?" Suki shifted slightly as she took the brochure, trying to get comfortable but not wake Velma. She looked over the details of the resort for a few minutes while the rest of the gang continued their search "Fred, this place looks ideal, can someone check if it's mystery free please. Gosh Velma has a heavy head."

"Do you want us to move her?" said Daphne

"No she needs to sleep, my leg can go without blood for a while longer, I'm used to her using me as a pillow anyway, she usually falls asleep against me when we watch movies together."

"Like I know all about it Suki, Velma's been using me as a pillow on mysteries since we were kids. I don't mind either, she looks cute when she's asleep" said Shaggy as he went to the computer and looked up details of the location.

"Huh, wha? Who's calling me cute? Oh sorry gang I must have nodded off" said Velma waking up

"I think Fred's found the place Velma" said Suki handing her the brochure. Velma began to read though the description and a smile began to appear on her face.

"Like its ideal Velma, according to the MysterySoft Map of Mystery the most mysterious thing that ever happened was a pantry door once started to creak when it was opened, and that was back in 1948" said Shaggy looking round from the computer

"No internet, no TV, poor cell-phone reception, I think I can take that for a week"

"No internet? Are you sure Velma? It's like Daph going without her make-up for a week." said Fred deliberately baiting Daphne.

"I am not that obsessed... Fred Jones you said that on purpose!" replied Daphne falling for it hook, line and sinker much to everyone's amusement.

"Seriously, look there's nature walks, fishing, swimming, boating, climbing, fossil hunting, caving, plus the place is dark enough for some serious star gazing..."

"Sounds perfect, I'll see if I can borrow my brother's portable telescope" said Suki

"But what if a mystery comes up, who's going to stand-in..." said Velma

"Patrick from the Criminology Institute will stand-in for you as per normal."

"Thanks guys. Let's book that holiday!"

A short while later Velma and Suki gave each other a high-five then Velma spun round in office chair and gave a little cheer.

"Well that's all sorted. A nice slow scenic drive to a hotel near the resort for an overnight stay and a visit to the nearby art museum, the next day we drive to the resort and catch the lunch-time boat to the island followed by 5 mystery-free days there and back in time for our team social."

"A mystery-free holiday, like Velma you're living our dream" said Shaggy wistfully, while Scooby nodded in agreement.


	2. Morning Departure

Each day dragged but collectively the week flew by. Before they knew it Friday evening was upon them, their bags were packed and supplies purchased. Velma and Suki slumped on the couch, Shaggy and Daphne followed suit and flopped into armchairs. Scooby was already half asleep in one his baskets which he had distributed round the various gang members homes.

"Wow guys, if I didn't need a holiday before I sure do need one now after all that shopping and packing" said Velma

"You said it" said Daphne sitting in a chair opposite

"Thanks for lending us the Mystery Machine so we could do all the shopping in one go" said Suki

"Like no worries Suki. You off tomorrow?" said Shaggy

"No Shag, Sunday morning, I want to finish my report to NASA so I can go on holiday with a clear desk. Seriously, I just can't wait for Sunday" said Velma her eyes twinkling.

Saturday morning saw Velma working in her home office while Suki was in the den watching cartoons and checking over the telescope her brother had dropped round the previous day when she got a call from Daphne on her cell phone.

"Hi Daph, what's up?"

"Suki, is Velma nearby?" asked Daphne in a whisper

"No she's up in her office finishing off her report for NASA, why?"

"A mystery has just come up; if Velma gets wind of it she'll feel duty-bound to come along. Can you head off today? Fred has switched of the text and email mystery alert system but there's still a chance that she'll find out."

"We just need to pack the food then we'll be ready to go. I'll see what I can do; I don't think it'll be that hard, she's really excited about going."

"Thanks Suki."

"Oh Daph, before I forget do we have room for another person at the bowling next week?"

"Yes, why? You're not trying to set Velma up with a date again are you?"

"No, there's just someone I think it would be nice for her to get to know that's all"

"Honestly Suki, OK I know the drill. Perhaps she'll be more receptive after this holiday."

"I hope so, I've been holding him back for when she's more relaxed. He's on the top of my 'A' list for Velma."

"Oh, oh, oh, then please do spilly-spill Suki"

"Well he's buff, but not too buff, just how Velma likes. Best describe him as sensitive and artistic. He finds intelligent women sexy, especially scientists."

"Sounds good so far, what does he do?"

"He mostly works at Coolville theatre where he designs and builds the sets; he does some specialist work at the hospital in the prosthetics department and makes custom furniture on the side."

"Velma likes the theatre, and has quite a thing for arty-creative types. Does he have a goatee?"

"A very neat and elegant one"

"Even better"

"You know that chair we all chipped in to get Velma last Christmas"

"Yeah, it sorted out her back problems; she even said she'd elope with the person who made it"

"He made it plus I know from his sister that he really likes the 'librarian thing'."

"The librarian thing that Velma does without even thinking about it?" Suki could hear the smile in Daphne's question

"Exactly"

"Sold"

Later that day the gang were at Mystery Inc HQ preparing for the next case, they were all glad that so far Velma had not come round, even to say goodbye. Just after midday Daphne's took a call from Suki. When the call had finished she punched the air "Yes!"

"What's happened?" asked Fred

"They've left. As soon as Velma had uploaded her report to NASA they booked another day at the resort, packed the car and were off. The only argument being over how many microscopes they would take."

Fred went to a computer and checked the MysterySoft Mystery Management System "Well Velma didn't even log in today. Hey good move on Velma's part she logged on Friday and suspended her access from then till they get back."

"Oh man that's good new. Still it'll be strange going on a case without her. I like looking for clues with Velma."

"Well why not ask Mary-Jane to tag along, I know mysteries aren't her scene but I'm sure she'll be ready to help during any boyfriend-in-distress moments" said Daphne

"Rave re Rary-Rane, rave re!" chimed Scooby

"Humph, that only happened once and you know it" replied Shaggy looking put-out and folding his arms.

It was late afternoon when Patrick walked through the door with a small rucksack on his back and a book under his arm.

"Hi guys, is Velma around? I tried calling her at home but I only got their answer phone"

"Like, you missed her Pat, she went this morning. As soon as the case came in Daph alerted Suki and she made sure Velma was out of here and on the road before she knew what was happening. You ready to stand-in for Velma?" said Shaggy as Fred handed Patrick the details of the case.

"Emm, jinkies I sure am. Good double-team with Suki Daph. I just wanted to wish them a good holiday and lend Velma this for the journey. I was rummaging around in the Institutes' archives for old books for the latest update of the Map of Mystery and found a copy of a book of legends from the area she's visiting. The original was written in 1710 and check out this wood-cut, look like anyone we know?"

Patrick opened the book on a bookmarked page and handed it to Shaggy, everyone else gathered round. The picture was of a young woman standing on the shoreline of a lake, in the background was an island which looked a lot like the one Velma and Suki were going to.

"Hmmm that figure does remind me of someone, but who?" said Fred

"Perhaps this will help" said Patrick. He laid a sheet of acetate over the page and drew a pair of thick-framed rectangular spectacles over their eyes.

"It's Velma!" they all laughed.

"Well I'll leave it here for her to look at when she gets back. Don't forget its girls v boys bowling next Sunday, you ready to loose Daphne?"

"Those are fighting words Patrick Wisely" said Daphne squaring up to him as Fred, Shaggy and Scooby yelled encouragement, from a safe distance.

The case was cracked in record time. Patrick and Daphne continued the competitive stand-off they started at HQ and vied with each other to find the clues, chase the ghosts and so on. This so confused and distracted the villains that they were unmasked by Fred, Shaggy and Scooby just after sunrise the next day. Back at HQ Fred and Daphne were writing up their case notes while watching TV, Shaggy was doing the same while looking through the book Patrick left. Around midday an email from Velma arrived, it said that after a peaceful night at the hotel they had made it to the resort and were just about to board the boat to the island, attached was a picture of the pair standing on a jetty waving at the camera and another one of just Velma with the island in the background..

"She's looking better already" said Shaggy

"Yeah... ten bucks says they'll get back before their postcard does" said Fred

"You're on" said Daphne

Shaggy returned to looking through the book and got to the picture of 'Velma'. He skimmed over the text but soon lost interest. He looked again at the wood cut, even without the glasses it was a spitting image of Velma. He held the book up to the picture of Velma standing in front of the island  
>"Rap!" said Scooby<p>

"Snap indeed" replied Shaggy

"When you're done Shag I'd like a look" said Fred

"Then me. I wonder if that's one of Velma's ancient relatives" said Daphne

"I wonder what its like to have a holiday without a mystery? Must be wonderful" Shaggy sighed

"Reah Relma's ro rucky" agreed Scooby

"Aw come on you two, some of our best cases have come from our holidays" said Fred

"My point exactly" said Shaggy.

"Come on, come on" muttered Velma as she waited for the emails to send, the email to the gang had been sent and now she was waiting for the one to their parents to go. She looked up, the boat to take them to the island was almost here "bingo!" she exclaimed as the message finally completed sending.

"Come on Velma. Put your laptop away the boat's here"

"OK Suki, the emails have all gone. That's one to the gang, one to each of our parents and one to your boyfriend" She shut the lid and put the laptop into her rucksack then stood next to Suki while awaiting their turn to load their luggage on the boat "they weren't kidding about poor reception, any slower and it'll be quicker to send the data packets by pigeon post"

When they were aboard they found a bench to sit on for the short journey. The pair were quiet for a while until Velma sighed as she rested her head on Suki's shoulder

"We made it. I'm glad we managed to rebook the hotel and here at short notice" Velma gave Suki a quick hug "Thanks"

"What for?" replied Suki

"For persuading me to come here a day early, I was worried that a mystery would come up and ruin everything. I suspended my access to the Mystery Management System and I know that the gang would have tried to keep one secret but, it worried me"

"Well there'll be nothing more mysterious that what to have for breakfast for the next few days."

"And how to get off the boat without falling in, we're almost there"

The pair looked up to their destination. The island was itself was shaped like a comma; most of the resort was concentrated in the bulbous head end with a few exclusive cabins scattered along the tail. Outside of the main resort area it was mostly covered in trees with a few open grassy areas dotted around the place. Hills ran along the spine of the island, on one side bands of sedimentary rock were exposed allowing fossil hunting while the more vertical areas allowing climbers to test their skills and some caves for the adventurous to explore. Various walking and cycle trails criss-crossed the island all leading to the resort centre at the tip of the bulb which housed the resort administration, a few shops and other facilities, camp-site and some cabins. It was one of these cabins which was to provide Velma and Suki's mystery-free holiday. They waited for the boat to pull along side a jetty before collecting their luggage.

Waiting at the jetty was a series of airport style luggage trolleys. Velma and Suki got a trolley and loaded their luggage on it then pushed it off the jetty towards the resort reception. Finally it was their turn to check in; Velma walked up to the desk and spoke to the receptionist, according to his name badge the receptionist was called Grant.

"Hi, it's Ms Dinkley and Ms McPhearson, we've a cabin booked for a few days"

Grant looked up smiled, nodded then checked the booking diary.

"Are you sure? I have you down for arriving tomorrow."

"Yes I rang yesterday and booked another day, today. I spoke to a Mrs Elms."

"Actually that does ring a bell, I'll check... there is an entry in the book but it's smudged. Verity, can you come over here for a minute?" At the back of the office an elderly woman in a long blue dress was filing some papers away; she walked towards the front desk then looked up.

"Certainly Grant. There was a Ms Dink... ley ohmygosh, it, it can't be, its... its her"

"Verity are you alright?" asked Grant turning round. She was staring almost open mouthed at Velma,

"Yes, I've just got to... make a call. Make our guests some coffee" Verity dashed out of the office. Grant sighed and shook his head

"Would either of you like some coffee?" he asked

"No thanks we're good" said Velma

"Well it sounds like she's expecting you so emmm, would you like to sign in and I'll get you some information for you to look at while you're waiting. I'm sorry about this she's been acting a bit strange lately."

Suki looked around the reception area. Around the walls were the usual visitor pamphlets and various pictures of the resort and the surrounding area. By the look of them they covered quite a time period, one caught her eye, it was a wood cut illustration of a person standing in front of the island, Suki smiled, it looked a lot like Velma. Her thoughts were broken when she realised that Velma had gone to sit down so she joined her. Grant sat and carried on with processing the rest of the visitors. In the background he could hear Verity talking to someone else as she re-entered the room

"It's her I'm telling you"

"Are you sure"

"Look she looks identical, the time is right; it's just as the legend says"

"Well I'll see for myself... it's true, it _is_ her"

"As I said, just as the legend predicted. You get the others; I'll arrange more suitable accommodation for them both to keep them out of the way."

"Yes, the master cabin is ready."

Grant shrugged his shoulders; it sounded like the madness was catching. Finally Verity walked back to the front desk.

"Tell you what Grant; you can go for your break early, I'll see to these nice young ladies"

"OK" he replied and left and waved and Velma and Suki over "Verity will look after you"

"So what brings you ladies here?" asked in a cheery fashion as the pair approached.

"I've been ordered by my doctor to have a break and this is by far the most relaxing place we could find" said Velma

"Sounds bad for your doctor to say that" replied Verity becoming concerned.

"Yes I collapsed at home"

"Oh dear, that's not good, hmmmm, you two just wait there a second, I think we may be able to get you some better medicine."

Verity walked off to a filing cabinet and took out a box file then returned to the desk.

"Well how's this to help you get better, a free upgrade" she smiled opening the box file

"You are so kind" said Suki bowing slightly

"Seriously? An upgrade? Oh wow" said Velma _this normally only happens to Daphne_ she thought

"Yes. You see the cabin you booked is right next to the main camp-site which can be very noisy even at this time of year. This cabin is right on the other side of the island. Aside from being the best it's the most peaceful and isolated cabin we have, no telephone, no cell-phone signal nothing from the outside world will disturb you at all, it's almost a private resort all by itself. You can take a golf buggy from outside to get there."

"Jinkies, thank you so much. That is just what the doctor ordered."

"Excellent ladies, I'm sure you will find the place very restful, you won't be disturbed by anyone. Here are the keys to the cabin, a couple of maps of the island, a map to the cabin and the keys to a golf buggy"

"Thank you so much. This place looks so good I'm not sure I'll want to leave" replied Velma taking the keys

"I'll drive" said Suki taking the golf buggy keys off Velma and the pair set off for the golf buggy.

"I guarantee you won't want to leave in fact you'll both be staying here, forever" chuckled Verity coldly as she watched them leave.


	3. Always Read The Small Print

With Suki driving Velma set to map reading, soon they had left the noise and hubbub of the main site behind them, the only people they encountered were the odd walker and cyclist, eventually they were heading up a small path through the woods.

"I am so glad they gave us this to get here I don't think I'd make it on foot" said Velma

"That's for sure, you OK?"

"Feel a bit shaky, I think I need to lie down for a while"

"Well you can as soon as we get there, where ever it is"

"It's just up ahead, see we're... there. Jinkies."

Suki stopped the cart and joined Velma staring at their destination "Jinkies indeed Velma"

To the left of them was a wooded hillside, in front of them the path continued down to the lakeside, they could see the shore and their own private beach and swimming area. Immediately to their left was a seating area around a fire-pit next to which was a barbecue and a pile of read-cut logs. To the left was their cabin.

"There must be some mistake, this, this place is huge" whispered Velma, Suki took her hand fearing Velma might ruin away with the shock of it all. Suki frowned slightly, Velma wasn't kidding about the shaking.

"No Velma, no mistake" Suki pulled up next to the cabin and got out.

"But... but" said Velma as Suki pulled her out of the cart and towards the steps leading up to the cabin. The steps lead up to a covered porch which ran round two sides of the cabin. On the side overlooking the fire-pit there was a bench with a double sized hammock was suspended between two beams, on the side that overlooked the shore there was a hot-tub. Suki lead Velma up the steps and to the front door.

"Look, Mrs Elms gave us the map and these keys. We followed the path marked on the map, yes?" Velma nodded "which lead us here, and if these keys open the door then this is out cabin yes?" Velma nodded again. Suki put the key in the lock and turned it, the door unlocked, Suki motioned to Velma who opened the door and they walked inside. The door opened into the main sitting area, in the centre was a log fire above which was a circular hood, this was framed by four leather couches. Leading off this were two bedrooms, both of which contained king-sized four poster beds with en-suite bathrooms. Along one side was the kitchen area, separated from the sitting are by an island topped with polished granite. The kitchen itself was top of the line. Everywhere the floors were of polished wood.

They each picked a bedroom, Velma selected the one with a window overlooked the shore and another which faced the wooded hillside. They then set to bringing their luggage inside. Suki came out of her bedroom to see Velma sitting on one of the couches, her shoulders were shaking slightly.

"What's wrong Velma? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I don't know" said Velma trying to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Shhh, you can tell me" Suki sat down and embraced Velma.

"It's everything; it's all too nice I just don't know what to do"

"Let it all out Velma, just let that stress all out" said Suki cradling Velma in her arms surmising that the tension was unwinding faster than Velma knew how to handle. Soon Velma had exhausted herself and fallen asleep, Suki eased Velma down onto the couch then set about making her comfortable so on the forehead, she went into a bedroom and returned with a blanket and pillow. She covered Velma with the blanket then gently worked the pillow under her head then paused briefly to look at Velma; she looked so peaceful now she was asleep. After a while she started to unpack things then collected the telescope, tripod and Velma's laptop and headed outside to set-up the telescope. After a bit of fiddling and faffing Suki had the telescope set up then started Velma's laptop and plugged in the telescope. Suki looked at the laptop wallpaper and smiled, last week it had been a photo of a satellite instrument Velma had helped design, now it was a soft-focus photo of Velma, Suki and Scooby taken at Daphne's engagement party.

"You big softie Velma" Suki said quietly as she started up the telescope software. Leaving the telescope and laptop to their own devices she started a fire in the fire pit then went and collected the things for dinner. Suki was preparing a selection of vegetables and fish for cooking over the fire, the fish had almost finished marinading when she heard Velma come out of the cabin and walk down the stairs towards where she was.

"Better?" said Suki glancing over her shoulder at Velma.

"Much better" said Velma as she came up behind Suki and sat down at the table "Need a hand?"

"OK, start skewering" The pair of them set to work and few minutes later their dinner was ready for cooking.

After dinner Velma and Suki lay in the hammock wrapped up under a blanket watching the embers of the fire die down. As their eyes became accustomed to the dark the shapes of the trees became clearer and the sky became alive with start. A gentle breeze caressed the trees, their movement making soft shushing noises which mingles with the lapping of the water from the nearby shore and the sound of a wood settling down for the night. For a long time they were quite, simply content with being close together in such an enchanting surrounding. Eventually they had to make a decision as to where they were to spend the night before their tiredness and the soothing sounds of the woods made the decision for them.

"We have a choice, falling asleep here, be bitten by who knows what insects then wake up cold with sore backs or using a new wonder invention in the cabin called a 'bed'" said Suki

"I vote the new wonder technology. If I can get down that is" replied Velma looking suspiciously over the edge of the hammock.

While Suki and Velma slept soundly, back in Coolsville Shaggy tossed and turned in bed; he couldn't settle, something was bothering him, across town Fred and Daphne did the same. The next day an event occurred which would have caused astonishment amongst the gang had they seen it, Velma overslept. It was eight in the morning when Suki woke up, though all she did was yawn, stretch then doze for another hour. Finally she got up to make herself some breakfast but not even the smell of coffee and toast woke Velma and it wasn't until ten that she shuffled out of the bedroom, semi-awake at best.

"Hello sleepyhead you look glamorous when you've overslept" said Suki.

"Hmmmmm Velma isn't in at the moment please leave your name and number after the tone" said Velma wandering over towards the coffee but was intercepted by Suki and guided to the table.

"No coffee for you today and none of that sugary cereal you normally eat either, nothing to artificially wake you up."

"You are a cruel woman Suki McPhearson" Velma understood what Suki was doing, but coffee was her Scooby snack, a day just wasn't a day without caffeine.

"Only because we're friends. Fruit juice and poached eggs on toast for you."

_At least it isn't plain muesli _thought Velma.

Back in Coolsville the caffeine was flowing in abundance but to little effect, wearily the gang headed to HQ. Fred had managed to make it in first thanks to several sports energy drinks and was in the process of getting the coffee machine going when Shaggy, Mary-Jane and Scooby walked in.

"Sleep well Shag?" said Fred rubbing his side.

"No he didn't, I nearly swapped places with Scooby. What's wrong with you Fred?" said Mary-Jane testily

"Sam kept prodding me in the ribs; said I kept tossing and turning all night. She's got sharp elbows too. You heard from Daph this morning?"

"Nope" yawned Shaggy

Just then the phone rang which Mary-Jane answered "Well Daphne's running late, Jason says she just couldn't sleep. She was pacing around the house all last night worried about something but she couldn't say what."

"Looks like we've all got a case of the whim-whams, good thing Velma isn't here to catch it" said Shaggy.

"Yeah, I wonder what she's doing?" asked Fred

"Probably reading a book, you know Velma" said Shaggy while Scooby mimed Velma reading a book. In fact Velma was running as fast as she could along a jetty, she didn't have her glasses on either, she was also screaming. Just as she got to the edge she cried out at the top of her voice "Cannonball!" and landed in the water as close as she dared to Suki.

Evening came and Velma and Suki were having supper, they'd been so busy all day that this seemed like the first time they had stopped.

"Swimming, rock-climbing, cycling then that adventure-trail come assault course, what a day! Tired?" said Suki looking at Velma who smiled and nodded.

"Seriously tired, but not how I've felt recently. Just plain old down-to-earth tired, it actually feels good" she said pouring some more red wine in their glasses.

"Well tired or not you still do the best baked potatoes and chilli that I know"

"It's one of Shaggy's recipes, with some slight modifications to make it edible for regular people. I've tried the original, it's... interesting."

"I'll sure drink to that, I've seen him make it" and they clinked their glasses together

Again they slept soundly, the activities of the day ensuring that they were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. In Coolsville the rest of the gang tried to settle down for the night but with less success. The next morning Shaggy woke up with a start, his heart was hammering, sweat was pouring down his face. He was sure something was wrong, desperately wrong and he had little time to work out what it was. He got changed and dashed out the house hauling a still sleeping Scooby with him. Half an hour later he was at Mystery Inc HQ. Fred and Daphne turned up soon after. They came in to find Shaggy desperately searching through the records.

At the resort both Suki and Velma were up early and were busy writing postcards to friends and family over breakfast.

"All done? Let's go to reception and get these in the post" said Velma

"Yep, let's go" said Suki. The two left the cabin and got on some bicycles they had hired yesterday then headed off to the camp reception. Having put their mail in the post they were just about to leave when they bumped into Verity again.

"Hello Mrs Elms" said Velma

"Well hello Ms Dinkley. How are you finding things here? I must say you are looking so much better already" said Verity warmly

"I feel so much better. This place is really great, and that cabin, it's perfect! We're sure to tell out friends when we get back. Well we've got to get going"

"That's nice to hear, well enjoy yourselves" she replied as the couple headed back to their bikes "while you still can" she chuckled as she watched Suki and Velma cycle away then ticked another day off the calendar.

Fred, Daphne and Shaggy searched through their records for any clue as to why they were all feeling this way. Eventually Shaggy gave up and returned to looking at the book Patrick left, he was flicking through it and got to the picture of 'Velma' he was about to give up and put it down when something in the text caught his eye, he read the same section again and again then checked the calendar; finally he gave a quiet high-pitched 'zoinks.' Fred, Daphne and Scooby looked round to see Shaggy tightly clutching the book to his chest, his face as white as a sheet.

"Emmm Fred, Daph, like I think we have a problem..."

"What problem Shag?" asked Daphne

"Velma's in danger, real danger, like dangerous danger" he said quietly

"What do you mean?" asked Fred

"Like that picture in the book which looks like Velma was of a human sacrifice."

"Oh that kind of danger" said Daphne weakly

"Racrifice?" said Scooby

"But we checked the place out, there are no mysteries there" said Daphne

"No _known_ mysteries Daph, this book isn't in the Map of Mystery software yet, remember?" said Fred

"Yeah like the book talks about an ancient ritual which took place there, it says in return for a human sacrifice the island will give wealth, power and long life to those who offer it the sacrifice. It was rediscovered by some of the early settlers in that area, the Eylmes. They were almost forced out of the area when they came across this legend. A lady came to the island seeking help and, well you can guess the rest. There's these prophecies that 'the innocent will return at the appointed time and seek succour' and the like. Basically they get one chance every century, that's 1810, 1910 and 2010."

"That's this year! But when this year Shag, does it say when?" said Fred, Shaggy nodded

"This Friday" he replied in a whisper

"Oh jeepers nonononono, we've, we've sent them to their deaths!" Daphne balled up her fists and held them in front of her mouth

"Now, now Daph, there's still time to mount a rescue mission. If we're quick we can get there tonight."

"How? Velma and Suki had to stop overnight on the way" said Shaggy

"Neither of them are fast drivers plus they wanted a bit of a road trip" replied Daphne

"Daph's right so Shag get on-line and see if you can book us in there. Camping I guess as we'll need to move around and be discrete" said Fred

"I'm on it Fred"

"Scooby, start getting the camping gear ready"

"Rokay"

"Daph lets get some supplies sorted out. We'll need to avoid the store on the island as much as possible"

"Fred, why don't we just call her?" said Daphne getting exasperated that no-one was doing the obvious thing.

"Good ideas Daph" said Shaggy

"You heard what Velma said about phone reception and if we try and pass a message it could get intercepted. Plus if we warn her she'll probably start investigating, you know what Velma is like. Besides, I have a plan" said Fred rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"A plan?" said Daphne rolling here eyes at Shaggy.

"OK gang it's time for operation…" Fred paused for a few second as he thought "'Keep Velma safe by solving the mystery without either her or Suki knowing anything about it, or that we are there so allowing Velma to have the relaxing holiday she needs and they both deserve'" he folded his arms and sat back, satisfied with his achievement while three pairs of eyes blinked simultaneously.

Daphne leant forward and touched his arm "Name needs a little work Freddie" she whispered.

"Rinkies, Roperation Rinkies" suggested Scooby

"Operation Jinkies, nice idea Scoob" said Shaggy.

"Operation Jinkies it is" said Daphne.


	4. Operation Jinkies

An hour later they had packed everything they needed and were in the Mystery Machine heading off to rescue Velma and Suki. They were all taking turns driving so they could just keep going. Every second they spent on the road brought them closer to saving Velma and Suki, even Shaggy and Scooby were only getting food when they stopped for fuel. Shaggy was currently driving with Daphne in the passenger seat while Fred and Scooby were resting in the back. They all jumped slightly when Daphne's cell-phone unexpectedly rang; it was currently plugged into the Mystery Machines hand-held system so it could charge.

"It's, it's Velma uh-oh! Act normal everyone" said Daphne just before pressed the answer button "Hi Velma you're on hands-free. I thought the cell-phone reception was poor, you haven't forgotten anything have you?"

"I'm using my Bluetooth headset; we had to raise my phone over half way up a tree just to get one signal bar. No we didn't forget anything; I just couldn't wait till we got back to thank you all, especially you Fred, for finding such a great place for us. And guess what? We got a free upgrade to their best, most secluded cabin. Its huge, two double bedrooms, great room, giant hammock on the porch, hot-tub, camp fire and barbecue pit with logs already cut for us, and the location! In woods overlooking the shore, its perfect Daph, seriously perfect it's just what the doctor ordered. I've even been sleeping-in."

"Jeepers Velma, don't overdo it. Are you both still OK, safe and well?"

"Emm why wouldn't we be? Though this fresh air is making us both feel seriously tired for sure, we regularly have naps in the hammock but other than that… say are you all driving somewhere?"

"Well, we errr just fancied going out for a little drive, urgent mystery of the missing pizzas from the freezer sort of thing."

"Ohhh, who could have caused that mystery I wonder" smiled Velma "anyway, gotta go the wind has picked up and... Suki catch my phone it..." then the line went dead. In the van everyone breathed a sigh of relief Suki and Velma were safe, for now.

"A mystery?" said Suki as they walked back to the fire pit.

"Yeah a real hard one, where did all the pizzas go from the freezer at HQ" said Velma stretching out on a bench next to the fire pit. She stared up at the clouds briefly then closed her eyes and focused on the sound of the wind in the trees "do you think they can handle this one without me?"

Suki lay down on the bench next to Velma and joined her staring at the clouds "If they can't then you should ask for a pay rise. Now that's done what do you want to do today?"

"Let's have an easy day; I fancy a walk along the shore then perhaps another bike ride in the afternoon."

"OK. I'd like to try one of those little sailing boats before we go"

"Great, we can cycle to the office and book one."

With that the pair got up, got their walking boots, cameras, binoculars and shoved some fruit and drinks in a small rucksack and headed off for another relaxing day.

That evening they sat cooking their dinner over the fire-pit.

"We must get one of these at home" said Velma as she basted the skewered fish and vegetables before holding them next to the fire for one last sizzle.

"Yes this is so nice. The noodles are done."

"Fantastic I'm starving"

"Me too we must have walked and cycled over most of the island today"

"Want to come back here next year? This place is seriously nice."

"I'll say, do you think we should make it a big Mystery Inc holiday?"

"If nothing crops up then yes, and so far, so good."

At that same time as Velma and Suki were settling down for their meal the evening boat to the island was on the way.

"We, we made it" panted Daphne.

"Yeah, talk about cutting it fine" said Fred after he'd got his breath back.

"OK Scoob your nose is our early warning system, let us know if Velma or Suki are nearby" said Shaggy

"Rokay"

When the boat arrived at the island the gang headed to reception, keeping a careful eye out for Velma and Suki. When they were inside they checked themselves in with the elderly receptionist.

"So you're the last-minute booking. It's nice to meet you I'm Mrs Elms" she said giving them a cheery smile.

"That's us, I'm Fred and this is Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby"

"What an adorable Great Dane, he's a real cutie" said Mrs Elms reaching over and scratching Scooby behind the ear.

"Rawww" went Scooby becoming rather bashful

"So what was the big rush to come on holiday here?" asked Mrs Elms

"We here to save Vel... ouch" said Shaggy suddenly finding a bag landing on his foot.

"Whoops, dropped my bag" said Daphne

"Yeah, we just finished a big job and fancied getting away from it all for a few days in the great outdoors, so do we have to stay at the camp-site? We like camping but prefer a more wooded location" asked Fred

"You don't have to but most do as it's more convenient for the facilities. There are some suitable areas in the woods marked on this map if you don't mind a bit of a hike" said Mrs Elms.

"What's up along this thin part of the island?" asked Daphne

"Some of our bigger cabins, while the area is not strictly off-limits we discourage people from camping there as the people who book those tend to want some peace and quiet."

"They sound nice, can I have some more details of those? I'm looking for ideas for my honeymoon" said Daphne making sure that Mrs Elms caught side of her engagement ring.

"Certainly dear, are either of these two your intended?" said Mrs Elms handing over some brochures.

"No, he couldn't get the time off at such short notice as he works in a hospital."

"Ahhh, never mind dear. Well you kids enjoy your stay."

With that the gang grabbed their things and left reception to find a path to Velma's cabin

"It must be one of these that they are staying in" whispered Daphne pointing to the leaflet she had been given.

"Scooby says the girls were here this afternoon but haven't been back since. Let's get some food from here while we can" said Shaggy as he pointed at the nearby diner.

"Good idea Shag, doubt we'll have the energy to cook anything when we get there, where ever it is"

The gang trudged along the path as the wood descended into darkness. So far they had ruled out all but one cabin. Scooby stopped and began to sniff the air and headed up a slope

"Relma, Suki! Relma rear-ry" said Scooby sniffing the air as they crested the hill

"This has to be the place, this is the last cabin. Jeepers, that's some upgrade"

"Man what a pad, they've even got a private beach" said Shaggy standing next to Daphne

"A little help, please?" said Fred as he tried to carry all their gear up the slope.

A while later they had set-up their tents a short distance from the top of the hill in what they hoped was a secluded place and were now eating their supper looking down on the cabin. Lights came from two of the windows. Daphne looked at her watch and started counting "5... 4... 3... 2... 1... and light out" she whispered. Sure enough one of the lights went out. The door opened and Suki came out and poured some water on the remains of the fire while Velma watched from the porch, both were wearing their dressing gowns. The pair went inside and a few minutes later the last light went out. Steam rose from the fire-pit, Scooby and Shaggy sniffed the air, Shaggy sighed as Scooby described what Suki and Velma had eaten for their evening meal.

"They had noodles with barbecued vegetables and fish then some smores and we've got the remains of pizza nobody else wanted" complained Daphne

"Pizza's not too bad, and there's quite a lot of it" said Fred

"Plus cookies, fruit and cold hot-dogs with hot sauce. Like it or not Daph at least we won't go to sleep hungry" said Shaggy

"I suppose so Shag, but still... I can just feel that bed" Daphne sighed looking at the details of the cabin below.

"Right, we'll take turns staying up to keep an eye on them.. You're on first Shag" said Fred.

"But who's going to keep an eye on me? Guys?" asked Shaggy as Fred, Daphne and Scooby walked off to their tents.


	5. We Wake At Dawn

"This can't be happening it's not real!" complained Shaggy as he was dragged out of his tent by Fred and Daphne, he was sure he'd just closed his eyes a few minutes ago.

"What's not real?" asked Fred.

"The time Velma wakes up in the morning"

"Both Suki and Velma are early risers Shag. We have to be up early just in case they are" replied Fred.

"Early risers? Like I've only just gone to bed by now when I'm at home."

Having first checked that neither Suki or Velma were up yet they got down to get their breakfast down them first.

"So Fred what did you bring for breakfast?" said Daphne

"Lets see, instant coffee, instant porridge – apple flavour, instant porridge – cinnamon flavour, instant porridge..."

"I'm spotting a theme here Scoob" Shaggy muttered to Scooby who nodded.

"That's all Velma's, no-one else really eats that stuff unless they really have to" complained Daphne

"Well what did you bring?" replied Fred

"Hmmm I've got maple syrup, instant soup, maple syrup, instant noodles, tinned tomatoes, milk powder, tinned corn, instant porridge, heh fancy that more instant porridge…"

"Roy roy" muttered Scooby and people wondered about his and Shaggy's food habits.

Having chosen the flavour of porridge for their breakfast they went up to the top of the hill to eat their food, drunk their coffee and wait for Velma and Suki to wake up. Their usual waking time came and went so they all headed down for second helpings and more coffee. Finally they could see movement in the bedroom; the curtains were opened by Suki who was fully dressed, she walked away and they could just about see Velma still in bed. She was lying motionless with only the very top of her head peeking out from the covers. Soon Velma began to stir; finally she sat up and patted around on the night-stand for her glasses as Suki returned and placed a small tray on the night-stand then went and opened the window, the smell of freshly ground coffee and blueberry muffins hot from the oven wafted thought the air. Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby all gave a collective sigh and stared at their breakfast of lumpy porridge and freeze dried coffee.

"Suki made some muffins like, they're the best" said Shaggy

"Reah, remember rombierest" agreed Scooby

"Zombiefest?" said Daphne

"Ohhh-oh how could I forget, she made a batch the morning after the zombiefest movie marathon at their place. Velma even made up a great game for us to play – shelf roulette."

"Don't ask" whispered Daphne

"Shelf roulette?" asked Fred

"Yeah, she put a red or black numbered sticker on each of their food shelves, I toss a coin to pick the colour and Scoob rolls a dice to get the number then I shut my eyes and take an item from that shelf, toss coin roll dice shut eyes take item till Suki says stop then you make something with the stuff you've collected. Man me and Scoob almost moved in."

"Told you not to ask" said Daphne now convinced more than ever that she was the only adult in the group. Shaggy and Scooby gave another sigh and poured more maple syrup over their porridge.

An hour later Shaggy was on watch, scanning the area for danger with his binoculars while Fred, Daphne and Scooby were clearing up and looking at a map of the area trying to guess where the pair would go.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, this is a disaster" Shaggy moaned. Immediately both Fred and Daphne grabbed their binoculars, rushed to his side and scanned the area for signs of danger.

"What's wrong Shag?" asked Daphne, All they could see was Velma and Suki sitting opposite each other on a picnic table next to the fire pit. On the table was a large jug of fruit juice and a pair of glasses and Velma and Suki's breakfast. Suki was eating toast and marmalade and Velma was having some kind of cereal.

"They're just having breakfast, I can't see anything wrong" said Fred

"First the fresh coffee, then the hot muffins and now this! Velma's having double-choc frosted whammy flakes with ice-cold milk, and we're not! That's the disaster. Man, she's even using the official double-choc frosted whammy flakes bowl and spoon; like they taste so much better that way. Do you know how many box-tops you have to collect to get those?"

"Honestly Shaggy I don't know who's the bigger kid at times you or Velma" said Daphne scratching her leg.

Scooby gave a whine and began to vigorously scratch himself.

"Err guys, why is the ground moving?" said Shaggy also beginning to scratch.

"Wood ants! We've disturbed a nest of wood ants" whispered Fred.

They all ran down the slope, scratching furiously and trying not to yell too much. They headed straight for the water and dived in.

Velma and Suki looked up and around at the sound then looked at each other

"Did you hear anything? Sounded like someone shouting" asked Suki

"Nope, must have been an animal. Want to go look for some fossils?"

"OK, we can take the rest of the muffins and have a picnic for lunch. I'd love to go for a walk in the woods after that"

"Sounds great"

Having got rid of the ants they regrouped at their hidden camp-site to try to work out what to do.

"We didn't hear what they're going to do" said Fred

"Ri reard rhem" said Scooby and explained to Shaggy what he had heard.

"Scoob says the girls are going fossil hunting, a picnic for lunch then a walk in the woods"

"How are we going to blend in? Even Velma's eyesight isn't that bad" said Daphne

"Already got that covered Daph. Shag, Scoob you boys ready?"

"We're on it" they replied and hurried off.

Daphne followed where they went and was surprised to see a catwalk made out of logs with curtains and drapes made of leaves and torches for spot-lights.

"Ladies and gentleman welcome to Shag and Scoobs woodland fashion boutique" said Shaggy as he and Scooby come out from being the curtain, Daphne gave a quiet groan. Shaggy and Scooby got to work measuring Fred then went to Daphne.

"This is Monsieur Doo our image consultant. Now Monsieur Doo what would you suggest as a colour for Madame Blake here" Scooby paced around Daphne carefully studying her

"Rreen" replied Scooby, waving his paw in a decisive fashion.

"Green, an excellent choice Monsieur Doo, just what I was thinking" they then began to take her measurement but were soon swatted away so the pair headed off behind the curtain. Daphne turned to face Fred.

"I've got to wear clothes designed by those two; you are _so_ dead Fred Jones" muttered Daphne while they were waiting for Shaggy and Scooby to finish whatever they were doing.

"Just wait till you see them, I'm sure you'll change your mind then" said Fred getting excited

"It will be quick and painless now, when I see the clothes all bets are off"

After what seemed like an age Daphne felt herself being tapped on the shoulder "Daph?" said Shaggy's voice.

"What is it Shag?" Daphne turned round, expecting to see Shaggy; instead she saw a giant walking man-plant standing in front of her, speaking to her. Nightmares from childhood came flooding back

"Mummy! Giant cabbage! Don't make me eat the giant cabbage!" shouted Daphne jumping into Fred's arms.

"Why are you holding onto Fred? What's with the cabbage talk?" asked Shaggy as he took the cover off his face

"Nothing, you, errr, you startled me that's all" replied Daphne regaining her composure. She got back down on the ground and brushed herself down "What _are_ you wearing? We're here to save Velma not star in a cheap horror movie" asked Daphne incredulously.

"Ghillie suits, ideal camouflage in woods and the like. Just see if you can find Scooby" replied Shaggy. Daphne scanned the clearing but after a few minutes of staring she gave up.

"OK Shag where is he?"

"OK Scoob" called Shaggy and Scooby walked towards them. As soon as he moved Daphne could see him, he'd only been a few feet away.

"I see they work, well I suppose I'd better put mine on" and with that Daphne donned the proffered clothes as did Fred and they set-off for where the girls were taking a few short cuts to try and catch them up.

"The fossil site is just up ahead. I think we've get there first" said Fred

"I hope so, they sure are taking their..." said Daphne

"Ragge, Relma rand Ruki roming rat ray!" said Scooby pointing down the path.

"Right, stand amongst the bushes, stay still and breathe slowly and gently" said Shaggy quietly. They covered their faces and hid in amongst the bushes. Velma and Suki appeared, walking together down the path with Suki slightly in front. They walked passed the gang and noticed nothing.

"Here we are" said Suki

"Yay! Fossil time!" shouted Velma and she rushed past Suki

"Go Dinkley go!" said Suki swatting Velma on the backside and she ran past

"Hey!" laughed Velma and carried on running.

The pair soon got down to looking for fossils and the site began to ring to the sound of a geologists hammer and cracking rock. Aside from the sound of the pair working and discussing the occasional find all was quiet.

"Here we see the natural habitat of the Dinkley" said Shaggy in hushed tones imitating a nature documentary presenter "this shy, gentle creature famed for her auburn plumage and unique..."

"Jinkies!" yelled Velma as she struck her thumb with her hammer

"Cry. The Dinkley is also known for her skilful use of tools..." Shaggy stopped as Scooby gently nipped him in the ankle, the rest of the gang were about to explode with laughter.

Velma bent down and a dart sailed over her head and stuck in the rock above her head..

"Man, what happened there?" whispered Shaggy the jovial mood evaporating in an instant.

"Raggy rhere!" said Scooby pointing at the edge of a small cliff opposite to where the girls were.

"Dart gun! Jeepers this is too real!" said Daphne, it looked like they were readying another shot, then another tube appeared "Freddie what shall... Freddie?" There was sudden movement near to where the girls were just as they heard a phoot noise from the tubes. A bush reared up and intercepted the darts then slumped to the ground

"Freddie!" whispered Daphne and Shaggy through gritted teeth. They made their way to where Fred lay as quickly and as quietly as they could.

"Hey what's this " said Velma as she noticed the dark sticking out of the rock. She pulled out the slab or rock containing the dart and split the rock . The dart fell to the floor but Velma didn't notice, she was entranced by the fossil within.

"Suki look at this!"

"What?" Suki moved to Velma's side, a dart passing through the space she had been seconds earlier "Oh wow Velma what a find, that's a beautiful sycamore leaf. You can see the impression on this top piece of rock as well."

"You can have that, it can be like, like those bits of jewellery that you have a piece each and fit together. The friendship ones." Velma smiled becoming coy as she spoke.

"You big softie, that's so thoughtful of you." said Suki giving Velma a huge hug.

Taking advantage of the girls being distracted, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne quietly dragged Fred away and hid in some undergrowth below a small cliff where the darts had come from.

"Suki, be careful I can hear something growling over there" whispered Velma pointing to where the gang were hiding. Daphne jabbed her elbow into Fred's side to stop him snoring.

"I think it's gone now. Thanks for the warning Velma"

Blissfully unaware the two returned to their fossil hunting. Scooby indicated that he could sense that the people who had fired the darts were still there, just a few feet above their heads. Shaggy and Daphne stared at each other as they listened in to a whispered conversation from above.

"They're not down, what happened?"

"They moved the first time but the second time a bush got in the way."

"Bushes don't just get up and move"

"Well, it was blown in the way then. Don't worry, there'll be other chances, she's not going anywhere."

"There are no bushes nearby now, let's have another go. The sooner those two are safely chained up the better I'll feel. We'll get both of them this time."

"Wait someone's coming" In the distance could be heard the sound of children shouting 'dinosaurs' and sure enough a short while later a couple of families appeared taking their children on a dinosaur hunt. Scooby relaxed as he heard the people above leave. Still ignorant of their narrow escape Velma showed the children how to split the rock sheets and Suki helped them find rocks to look at and use her field microscope. When Scooby was satisfied that the people targeting the girls had gone for good Shaggy and Daphne moved Fred away to the lakeside and set to work reviving him while Scooby kept watch on Velma and Suki. After a couple of minutes of throwing water over Fred's face he finally came round.

"Wha...? Velma is Velma OK"

"Yeah, they're fine. Some kids turned up to go fossil hunting so the people with the pipes left"

"That was so brave of you. Up you get Freddie" said Daphne as she and Shaggy helped Fred to his feet. He was a little unsteady on his feet so they walked slowly back towards where the girls were. They were in a wide open area of grassland which separated the shoreline from the woods. When they were nearly at the woods they were almost knocked over by Scooby running towards them.

"Relma, Ruki roming, ride!" They looked up and saw Velma and Suki almost upon them.

"They're coming, we've got to hide!" whispered Fred, he looked around aside from where Velma and Suki were going to come from, there was no suitable cover for them to blend into.

"Lie down they won't see us if we all lie down on the ground together" said Daphne. Quickly they huddled together and tried to do an impression an uninteresting patch of mossy ground. Seconds later Velma and Suki appeared from the woods, they walked a short way along the path then stopped.

"This is odd ground" said Velma as she took another step on the suddenly uneven ground.

"Yeah, squishy but with firm bits" said Suki.

"Can you hear a noise when whenever we put a foot down" they held hands to steady each other as the bounced around on the odd ground laughing as they did so.

"Must be trapped air. The ground is quite soft do you want to have the picnic here?" said Velma

"Yes... no wait Velma don't sit down, there's poison ivy all over the place. Let's go over there near the shore. It's only a minute or so away."

"OK Suki, lead the way. I feel like a paddle to cool my feet" said Velma and they headed off to the shore.

Everyone stayed still, being as quiet as they could till the pair was far enough away.

"Roison rvy?" whispered Scooby.

"Itchy, itchy, itchy, itchy" squeaked Daphne as she jumped up and tore off the ghillie suit. The others quickly followed and headed for cover in the woods.

Suki looked up with an amused expression on her face "Something sounds like it's speaking Japanese"

Velma listened, then nodded and smiled "Yes, sounds like some daft bird is flapping around saying one, one, one"

They removed their shoes and socks and put their feet in the water.

"Oh this feels soooo good" said Suki

"You said it. We must get one of these at home"

"What, a lake with a wooded island? Have you seen our garden lately? We can't even grow weeds"

"True but I can dig holes; after all I've dug enough traps for Fred over the years. If all else fails I'll see if Shaggy wants to grow some vegetables or something."

The rest of the afternoon had gone smoothly if rather busily, the gang were past-masters in traps so were easily able to deal with those set to capture Velma and Suki. The plan was simple, Fred and Daphne went ahead and disabled any trap set for Velma and Suki, Scooby would stay close to the girls to act as point defence for them and Shaggy followed up the rear to reactivate the trap if the girls were being followed. Three pit-traps, five net traps, four dropping cages, three quicksand traps and two knock-out gas traps had been dealt with by the time Velma and Suki arrived safely back at their cabin. The gang were ecstatic this was turning out to be a fun trip, aside from the mortal danger that Velma and Suki were in. As a finale Fred and Shaggy had swapped places, Fred wanted to set a special trap of his own. The gang watched as the baddies fled as fast as their legs could carry them crying out in terror and confusion.

"Well I don't think we'll be seeing them for a while" said Fred and he walked off with a satisfied look on his face.

"Well that was quite spectacular, unsettling but spectacular" said Daphne

"Man I wonder where Fred found so many groundhogs at such short notice" said Shaggy

"More to the point angry ninja groundhogs?"

It was the late afternoon, the Fred and Daphne were having a nap, Shaggy was reworking the ghillie suits so Scooby was keeping watch. He looked down to see Velma and Suki sleeping in the hammock. Well he now knew what to get them for a Christmas present.

"Rawwwwwn" he found himself yawning, the peer-pressure of everyone else sleeping was getting to him. Scooby paced around for a moment then settled down. So far Fred's plan was working, the pair knew nothing about the danger they were in, nor that the gang were watching over them. The ghillie suits had worked a treat, Velma and Suki hadn't noticed them, even when they had been right on top of them, literally. Thanks to a small oversight with the first version they now had poison-ivy marks the shape of footprints all over them and Daphne had taught Shaggy some new words. Despite this Operation Jinkies was working, so far but there were still two full days to go before they could all relax.

As Fred predicted no-one came near the cabin. Velma and Suki had a little swim then made dinner. Mercifully for the gang this was just salad, soup and bread with fruit to finish with. Shaggy ran back to the island store and returned with some fresh pizza, a few pies and fresh fruit juice for them all. The only possible downer on the evening was the heavy clouds rolling in, even this didn't worry the gang and they had picked quite a sheltered spot so were confident of a good night's sleep. That evening Velma and Suki were drinking hot chocolate, sitting at the picnic table while the gang were looking on from their new ant-free observation point having their supper of instant soup and noodles. Suddenly Scooby started to sniff the air, the gang stopped and listened, they could hear movement nearby.

"Rouble roming, rhat ray" Scooby indicated down the slope towards a secluded path. The gang crept down till they could see what was going on. There were three figures, all dressed in black all with masks on their faces.

"Got everything?" said one, another figure looked in their bag.

"Yep, once they're wrapped up in this lot they're not going anywhere; you got the knock-out stuff?"

"Right here" said the first holding up two sealed plastic bags, each with a cloth inside "The boss ready to receive them?"

"Yeah they can both fit in the cage, just. Then on Friday it's errrk" the third drew his finger across his throat "for the pair of them and we're in the money" he finished with an evil snigger.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, the storm was right above them.

"Going to be one serious storm tonight" said Velma looking up from their picnic table.

"No kidding, we'd better finish up and get inside quickly"

"The logical choice would be for us to let them grab the girls then we move in while the goons are encumbered" said Fred

"You feeling logical, Jones?" said Daphne icily

"Nope" Fred grinned, he picked up a rock and took out a long spool of metallic wire out of his pocket, Daphne smiled and picked up the longest branch she could find while Shaggy was already climbing the tallest tree on the path between the goon and the cabin carrying a coil of rope. Scooby circled round to the cabin, ready to defend Velma and Suki should the gang fail to stop the goons from getting through. The goons were waiting near the edge of the clearing, looking for an opportunity, suddenly a rock fell to the ground from a tree near them, there was a metallic glint leading from the rock up into the tree. One of the goons looked up and frowned, he thought he saw someone abseil from that tree to a much smaller one. The heavens opened, Velma and Suki ran inside the cabin locking the door behind them.

One of the goons started to speak "We've got the key, let's wait somewhere..." a bolt of lightning hit the tree next to them, the wire evaporated, dazzling them with light brighter than a flash gun, the sap in the tree flashed to steam and the bark exploded, showering them with shards of wood like pellets from a shotgun, knocking them off their feet. Two of the goons eventually staggered to their feet, stunned, bloodied and bruised, the other didn't move and only groaned slightly as he was dragged away by the other two, with one of them limping heavily. The gang got together in a small alcove in the cliff next to where their tents were, they high-fived each other and cheered.

"The ultimate trap!" said Fred

"Man using a storm, Fred you've outdone yourself"

A bolt of lightning hit a tree a short way away from their tents, a large branch fell off and landed between their tents. The group looked at each other, it was going to be a long night.


	6. Run Silent, Run Deep, Run Away

Velma walked out onto the porch in her dressing gown, stretched and sucked in a lung full of air. There was nothing better than the smell of the outdoors after a storm, everything just smelt more fresh and clean. Suki came up behind her and stood next to her.

"Boy that was some storm last night" said Velma

"Absolutely, I haven't been spooked by a storm for ages."

"Well if you're going to get spooked by a storm, that was one to get spooked by. It was brutal" said Velma.

"Glad we didn't decide to go camping" Suki rested her head on Velma shoulder.

"That's for sure"

In a nearby alcove four pairs of eyes slowly emerged from under a tarpaulin and looked around.

"Is, is it over?" said Daphne.

Wrapped up in her sleeping-bag she was clinging onto Fred while Shaggy and Scooby were clinging onto her. Tentatively the group emerged from their hiding place, the charred remains of a tree was scattered all around them.

"Right, lets get to work and fix this place up" said Fred

"And we'll fix breakfast" said Shaggy

"Reah!" agreed Scooby

For a while it seemed that the girls weren't going to do anything but mid-morning the sound of a quad-bike could be heard approaching. The gang rushed to see what was going on, they were relieved to see a lone quad-bike towing a trailer holding a rowing boat. Velma and Suki came out of the cabin as the bike pulled up.

"See you got the ultimate upgrade" said Grant waving to the two girls

"That's for sure" said Velma

"Well I must say Ms Dinkley you're looking so much better that when I saw you"

"Thanks Grant, I feel so much better. This place really gets you away from it all" said Velma

They watched as Grant reversed the bike down the slope to the lake and put the trailer into the water. He unhitched the trailer and pulled the boat away and tied it to the jetty.

"Right there are life jackets in the boat as are the oars. Have either of you ever rowed before?"

"Only in a gym" said Suki

"I've seen it done a few times" said Velma

"Do you want a quick lesson?" Grant asked, both girls looked at each other then nodded at Grant.

"Like, it looks like they are planning to row out to that pontoon and have a sunbathe" said Shaggy as he looked through his fingers at Suki and Velma as they practised rowing under Grant's tutelage. Shaggy rapidly formed the opinion that Grant had the patience of a saint having himself lost count of the number of times the girls had dropped the oars in the water. Still there was something rather adorable in the way they both chorused 'Sorry Grant' then have a fit of the giggles. Shaggy knew that this was a sure sign that Velma was stress-free.

"Velma's better" he declared

"Well if Velma does sunbathe then we know she's better" said Daphne, she paused for a few seconds then declared "actually that's a damn good idea, wait here boys" then dashed off. She returned a few minutes later threw a towel down in a sunny spot, stripped down to her bikini and lay down facing the water. She threw a bottle of sun-tan lotion at Shaggy "do the honours Shag, Freddie has cold hands"

Shaggy caught the lotion and set to work on Daphne.

"Well this isn't the worst case we've ever been on" said Fred as he sat down in the sun and rested against a tree folding his arms behind his head. Soon Shaggy had finished putting suntan lotion on Daphne and he and Scooby joined her in sunbathing.

Half an hour later Velma and Suki felt confident that they were up to rowing by themselves so Grant headed off.

"Right I've attached the oars to the boat so you can't drop them in the water" said Grant

"Sorry about that" said Velma

"Well you have fun" he said as he boarded the quad-bike and headed off.

"Thanks Grant!" said Suki as she and Suki waved after him.

Shaggy was just about to doze off when a thought struck him "Fred, how do we get to them if they need help?" asked Shaggy

"Hmmm good point Shag, I've got an idea. Oh man, its a good one" Fred jumped up and ran down the hill. Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne looked down to watch Velma and Suki's erratic progress across the lake. On average the boat was moving towards the pontoon though quite who was steering at any point in time was unclear. Neither of them were good at rowing, they both knew it and were laughing themselves silly as a result.

"This is embarrassing" muttered Daphne as she watched Suki and Velma dissolve into yet another laughing fit.

"Cheer up Daph, they're better at bowling" said Shaggy not taking his eyes off the boat.

"Only just"

"I, I recognise that. I remember" said Shaggy pointing at the row boat. Its motion awaking a long forgotten memory.

"It's a row boat Shag" said Daphne rolling her eyes while Scooby chuckled

"No, remember High School physics?"

"Oh yeah, as soon as I wake up every morning" said Daphne sarcastically

"Chocolate-Brownian motion, Velma taught me that"

"Rhocolate Rownie? Rhere, rhere?"

"No Scoob, its just something Velma taught me to help me out for a test at school. Brownian motion, chocolate-Brownian get-it?"

"Rhocolate Rownie, Rhocolate Rownie!"

"No Scoob listen I remember the lesson now..."

Daphne hid her head under a spare towel and tried to block out the sound.

Eventually the boat made it to the pontoon, from the shore they could hear Velma and Suki cheer. They tied the rowing boat to the pontoon and stepped on board. Both undressed down to their swimming costumes and laid out a pair of towels to lie on.

"Be careful Velma, you know you burn easy"

"The cooking instructions say when I go ding baste me and turn me over" smiled Velma lying down on her towel.

"I've got the sun block here just lie still"

Suki set to work on Velma, applying copious amounts of sun block to any exposed piece of skin.

"I'll look like one of those long distance swimmers if you put any more on" complained Velma

"I don't want you to get burnt" said Suki smiling as she dabbed a blob of sun block on Velma's nose with her finger "All done, my turn." With that Velma and Suki swapped places. Suki gave a contented sigh and relaxed under Velma's attention. This was the life, a wonderful holiday spot, nothing to worry about and all with her best friend in the world. What had started out as a simple holiday for Velma's health had rapidly turned into one great adventure holiday for them. Once the application was over Velma settled down next to her and the cooking began in earnest.

"Daph, we have a problem" Shaggy pointed to a nearby cove

"What?" Daphne followed his direction, nearby there was a boat getting ready to set sail. The shuttle boat to and from the island was off doing a run so there was no normal reason for the boat to be getting ready. That two of the people on the boat were looking through binoculars in the direction of Velma and Suki just confirmed their suspicions.  
>"Down there, I don't think that boat is going for a trip to the mainland"<p>

"Someone will need to get out to them and not be seen"

"We'll need wet suits, not ghillie suits to get out there" said Shaggy

"Fred's working on that remember? I'm sure you and Scooby will do fine"

"Oh boy, I don't like the sound of that Scoob."

"Reah."

Just then they heard a whistle from below

"Freddie's finished let's go see what he's done" said Daphne and with that they set off.

"Well what do you think?" said Fred. He was standing next to what looked like a wooden blimp a bit larger than the Mystery Machine. There was a hump on the top about the size of a bath-tub from which two tubes protruded, both of which ended in model ducks and at each corner of the hump was a long metal drill-bit. At the rear was a structure which looked like a wooden lampshade containing the propeller and either side of that were fins. The whole contraption sat on tracks which went into the lake. Fred walked up to it and placed a ladder against it.

"Well?" said Fred expectantly

"MI Mysterious" Daphne read the name off the hull.

"We have a navy!" said Fred

"Wanna guess who the sailors are going to be?" muttered Shaggy to Scooby

Scooby whimpered a little.

"Like have you tested this Fred?" asked Shaggy

"Sort of, I've seen them build this stuff on TV. Just like making a space craft"

"Like, you've never made one of those either. Still disguising the periscope as a duck is a nice touch Freddie" said Shaggy

"Reah"agreed Scooby

"What's the other duck disguise?" said Daphne

"A snorkel, when she goes underwater the duck's bill closes and stops water coming in. You can breathe through it and listen in. Ready for launch?" said Fred

"Always ready for lunch" said Shaggy, Scooby chuckled at the remark.

"Launch" said Daphne pushing the pair towards and then up the ladder

"We all live in a mystery submarine, a mystery submarine, a mystery submarine, we all..." sang Shaggy as he boarded the boat.

"Rush!" went Scooby holding a digit to his mouth

Fred handed Shaggy and Scooby a head-torch as they climbed through the hatch. Inside there were two more head torches giving general illumination. There was a tandem-like structure with leavers where the handlebars would be. Either side of the seats were two old-fashioned wood drill handles.

"Right you sit on the seats and peddle to work the propeller. Scooby has the periscope and controls the direction and Shaggy you control the depth. You can raise and lower the periscope and snorkel and the drills you can use to sabotage any boat that threatens the girls. And above you head is the galley."

They looked up to see a box of Scooby Snacks attached to the area above each seat.

"Present from Daph, open up if it gets a bit stuffy in there" Fred dropped a box on Shaggy's lap.

"Fire one!" said Fred as he closed the hatch. Shaggy and Scooby braced themselves as they rumbled down the slipway and into the water. Neither of them were surprised when they began to sink, they were surprised when they stopped sinking a few second later. Scooby scanned round with the periscope and saw Daphne and Fred giving them the thumbs-up and waving at them.

"Man, this is the only submarine that suffers from dry-rot" said Shaggy as he and Scooby peddled the craft away "you have the con Scooby. Make our depth 200 meters, secure bulkheads, down periscope, all ahead revolutions 2-0 Mr Doo."

"Roy roy" muttered Scooby, this was going to be a long trip.

"Ping… Ping… Ping… Sonar contact on starboard bow" said Shaggy as he looked over Scooby shoulder and peaked through the periscope to see the pontoon come into view.

"Really rhere" said Scooby as he guided the craft near to the pontoon

"Pingpingpingping! Rig for red Mr Doo" said Shaggy

They stopped pedalling and put a red light-bulb in each of their head-torches.

"I'm getting hot, I'm going for a quick swim" said Velma

"I know someone who thinks you're hot" said Suki giving mischievous smile.

"I'm intrigued" grinned Velma as she dived into the water.

"Transients! Transients! Dinkley in the water! Deploy countermeasures!" said Shaggy as Velma dived into the lake, Scooby steered the craft away from where Velma was and they circled the pontoon at a safe distance.

Scooby stopped peddling and each held a glass to the side of the hull, they could hear the low throbbing noise of a boat engine getting closer, finally Scooby could see the boat through the periscope it was heading their way. Someone threw a net of some kind, overboard

"Entry of small objects close aboard! Action station! Ramming speed! Sound collision!" shouted Shaggy getting carried away.

Scooby sighed he wouldn't be letting Shaggy stay up late to watch submarine films on TV again anytime soon. The boat wasn't going too fast but it was faster than either of the girls could swim and certainly faster than they could row. But it wasn't too fast for Shaggy and Scooby to pull alongside. They extended the periscope and snorkel as high as they would go so they look and listen. They saw two people carrying knives in their belts and coils of rope onver their shoulder. A third appeared and dumped a heavy object on the deck along with what looked like two sacks. On their belt they had a pistol holster.

"Nothing fancy this time. Just go along side and grab 'em at gunpoint" said the new arrival

"What if they try to get away?"

"You two get ready to go in the water if they do. The boss says we can dispose of the other one now if we get the chance. I've brought a load of extra dive weights along to use if we get the chance"

"Rattle rations?"

"Battle stations" agreed Shaggy. The sub dived under the bottom of the boat then began to surface till it made contact with the underneath. Shaggy and Scooby began to turn the old-style drill handles either side of them as fast as they could. When all four turned without resistance they moved a few feet ahead and repeated the process. They were just about to disengage when one of the drills became stuck.

"I think that boat is heading for us" said Suki looking up as Velma climbed back on board

"Could be, wonder what they want?"

The skipper increased power to the engines; the boat was sure acting a bit sluggish all of a sudden "Almost there, get ready" he said

"We're sinking!" shouted a voice from below

"What? What do you mean?"

"Sinking, y'know the nautical term for water on the _inside_ of the boat rather than the outside. It's almost ankle deep in the galley already, it's pouring in from somewhere."

"Damn it! Head for shore quickly" with that the boat turned away and headed back the way it came at full speed.

Shaggy and Scooby peddled like mad, Shaggy activated Daphne's emergency air cleaner and a fresh lavender scent filled the air. As the boat turned in one direction they turned in another, there was a metallic 'thunk' as the drill bit broke off and they headed directly for the shore.

"The girls are still there, they did it Daph!" said Fred. Both saw the boat head away form the pontoon as fast as it could without Velma and Suki who had resumed sunbathing,

"Way to go Shaggy and Scooby. But where are they?" said Daphne

"Dunno Daph"

"Wait Freddie I see something heading this way."  
>"Take cover!" shouted Fred as the submarine suddenly broached the surface and ran up the beach showering Fred and Daphne in water and silt. When it was all quiet they looked up the see the submarine all the way up the beach with Shaggy and Scooby proudly standing on top of it, both as dry as a bone.<p>

"It worked Fred, we saved Velma and didn't even get out shoes wet" said Shaggy and he and Scooby jumped down.

"Great, just great" spluttered Fred.

"Yeah, I'm so glad" said Daphne wringing out her jacket.

After the exertions of the morning the gang were glad to see that Velma and Suki were going to stay around their cabin and soak in the hot-rub rather than trek over the island. Fred, Shaggy and Scooby were resting while Daphne sat watch. Velma came out of the cabin, wearing her dressing gown, carrying a tray with glasses and a jug of orange juice; she set the tray on a small table by the edge of the hot tub and removed her robe.

"How's the bruise coming along?" asked Suki

"Better, you can still see it though, aches a bit as well" the faint purple bruise on her thigh contrasting with her white swimming costume.

"Water's nice and warm for you"

"Jinkies this feels good. I'll miss this. I suppose there's no way we can get one of these back home" said Velma as she lowered herself into the tub opposite Suki. When she was in Suki began to massage Velma's feet.

"I think Daphne should book this place for her honeymoon. After all this is an ideal place" said Suki.

"For a short stay I agree but Daph likes the city, not enough shops here for a long stay. Shaggy and Mary-Jane would love it here though as would Scooby"

"True, what about Fred and Sam?"

"I think Sam would prefer a real beach location, she loves the sea plus Fred loves his beach volleyball. What about yours? I'm guessing it won't be long before Nick is doing the asking."

"I don't think it will be that long, well I hope it won't be. In any case you've already agreed to be my bridesmaid won't you?"

"First I'm Daphne's now I'm yours, I even think Shaggy's going to ask me to be his best man, always the bridesmaid..."

"Well on that subject I think I've got a friend..." said Suki carefully "

"Are you trying to set me up?"

"No I'm just trying to enlarge you social circle with a supply of eligible bachelors. Who have a goatee."

"Oh"

"And works in the theatre"

"Oooh"

"Who also made a chair owned by someone in this tub"

Velma was quiet for a second "Emm when can I…"

"Bowling this coming Sunday"

"The McPhearson matchmaking agency"

"Worked for Fred and Sam"  
>"True"<p>

"And for Daphne. Does she know I set her up with Jason?"

"Don't think so"

_She does now. I just thought I kept on bumping into him at their place _Daphne thought_._

"Any idea what we should get them for a wedding present?"

Velma thought for a few seconds then replied "Well how about…" Daphne jammed her fingers in her ears and hummed a tune as quietly as she could. A few seconds later she closed her eyes and started to slowly rock back and forth while still humming.

"Daph? Daph?"

Daphne awoke to find herself being gently shaken by Fred. Her fingers were still in her ears.

"What, oh sorry boys I just nodded off for a second, I didn't want to hear what they were going to get me for a wedding present"

"Like Daph where did they go?" said Shaggy

"Oh no!" whispered Daphne as a sense of panic came over her.

They all stared at the scene below. Dressing gowns were still there; the tray was there but the glasses had been tipped over and one was resting on the floor. The hot-tub was bubbling away but Velma and Suki were nowhere to be seen.


	7. In The Movies

They stopped at the sound of the cabin door being opened and breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw Velma and Suki come out from cabin cuddling up to each other both looked rather flushed.

"Don't know where that hornet came from" said Suki

"Well I'm glad its gone, I don't react well to being stung" said Velma

The pair quickly cleared the mess away and took everything inside, a short while later they emerged and locked the door behind them. They were dressed for walking and each was carrying a rucksack, torch and a lantern.

"Let's go back along the shore again, I thought I saw a cave entrance" said Suki

"Possibly, though it's not on the map" said Velma as she examined a map.

"Perhaps we be finding pirate treasure arrrr" said Suki overacting

"Yes dear, never mind" said Velma patting Suki on the arm

With that the pair set off along the shore with the gang following behind keeping close to the tree-line for cover. All was going well until Velma and Suki made a sharp turn into the trees and vanished.

"Bother, we've lost them" said Fred

"No worries Fred, Scooby can find them, plus we know where they're going" said Shaggy

"Yeah, let's take our time an make sure we don't walk past them" said Dapnne

A short way from the shore, partially shielded by some trees was a cave entrance wide enough for two people to walk upright side-by-side. Velma and Suki shone their torches inside to check that all was clear then the entered.

"Wonder why this isn't on the map?" said Velma as they walked into the cave scanning the area with their torches.

"Not sure, there's a flow of air so I can't see there being a problem with gas building up. Perhaps it's too dull."

They carried on walking until they reached a junction between three tunnel, a short way down the middle tunnel there was a pool of light. Both carefully walked up to the light, looking up they could see the trunk of a tree and its canopy. Roots and detritus littered the floor with a pile of rock just under the pool of light.

"Ahh this is probably why, the ground above here is starting to fall in" said Velma

"Yep, looks like the roots from tree above have cracked open the rock and caused a bit of a cave-in. Hmm I think we could climb out this way."

"Maybe later, lets pick another one, lets try the one on the right."

"Well just another tunnel but without the skylight" said Velma as they walked down the third tunnel. Velma looked at the ground, there seemed to be less detritus on the floor unlike the one they had just been in. It almost looked as if it had been recently cleaned. She was just about to mention this to Suki when Suki topped and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Say Velma look at this" Suki pointed into a room on the right-had side of the tunnel.

"What it is? Jinkies what a lair" said Velma as she followed Suki into the room, switching on their lanterns to provide better illumination.

It was a large room with torch holders spaced round the walls and a high ceiling. The walls themselves were mostly bare with the occasional carving and some stains were water had trickled over them. In the far wall was a small alcove which held a shiny object of some kind. In the centre of the room was a carved stone dais on which was set a rectangular block of stone. There were carvings depicting a squid-like creature and what looked like the island. On top of the slab at each end was set a long metal bar, each were several inches wide, with a hinge in the middle. The part which could move had two large indentation in a few inches apart. The girls examined the area for a few seconds then they looked at each other.

"B-movie!" they said simultaneously and laughed

"I wonder which movie this all comes from?" said Velma as she examined the carvings on the wall

"Ohhh costumes!" said Suki noticing some robes hanging up on the wall so she went over to examine them "ewwww very old costumes."

Finally they got to the alcove in wall, the shiny object was found to be a dust covered glass jar with a withered brown object inside. Velma stood to one side while Suki held up the jar and closely examined the contents.

"Looks like a heart, quite an old one" said Suki

"Guess the studio decided to have some realism and use a pigs heart"

Velma studied the carvings next to the alcove through a magnifying glass "Hmmm these have been made with a metal tool, fairly recently, perhaps within the last few centuries"

"Well those robes haven't been here that long. What film do you think was made here."

"Gosh, I've seen so many bad horror films over the years that any number of them could have been filmed here. Shaggy might know he's seen more than me."

"Say Velma, how about we ask Shaggy in B-movie fashion, you lie down on that and ask him" said Suki pointing at the slab.

"OK, we can edit the clip on the laptop tonight and give it that B-movie feel" said Velma as she laid down on the slab and put her arms over her head. Suki then managed to close the bars over Velma's wrists and ankles making sure that they didn't lock shut.

"That was tough, those hinges are stiff. Hey this slab looks like this was made for you, you fit it perfectly. OK Velma, and action!" said Suki filming her on her camera

"Help Shaggy, help! I can't remember what film was made here" Velma struggled and pleaded with as much overacting as she could muster "the only way to save me is to remember! Suki! Stop laughing."

"Sorry Velma but you've never been one a natures actors" said Suki as she sat on the slab.

"Cancel the film Suki, I need to call my agent" said Velma

"I guessed as much, but all good damsels need distressing"

"Distressing?"

"I know your secret Velma, I know why you never wear a bikini" whispered Suki as she pulled up Velma's shirt to reveal her stomach

"Suki, you wouldn't dare!" said Velma as Suki sat up and wiggled her fingers

"Oh I would"

"Su-KI!" squeaked Velma going a reddy-purple colour as Suki gently tickled her stomach

Velma thrashed around trying to keep her stomach away from Suki's fingers. For a few seconds Suki filmed Velma, holding the camera in one hand and ticking her stomach with the other. Despite her protests Velma was laughing, suddenly she stopped and tried to move.

"Suki, stop it"

"Never, not until you promise to do all the washing-up for a year" laughed Suki

"No seriously stop it, I'm locked in!" said Velma

"What?" Suki stopped immediately; she could tell that Velma wasn't joking

"These things are locked on, I can't move"

"Oh.. Oh.. what is it?" said Suki as she tugged on the bar securing Velma's wrists

"Jinkies?"

"No, worse"

"Jeepers?"

"No"

"Zoinks?"

"Yes that's it zoinks"

"Ro-roh Ruki?" said Velma imitating Scooby trying to lift the mood but the joke fell flat.

"Where did they go exactly?" asked Fred

"Down that spooky and dark tunnel" said Daphne

"Spooky and dark are two of our least favourite adjectives. Especially when they follow after each other... and right into a tunnel" said Shaggy

"Reah, rad rords" agreed Scooby

"You're right Shag it doesn't sound right" said Daphne

"It, it doesn't?" said Shaggy, both he and Scooby breathed a sigh of relief

"Of course, it should be dark and spooky. That rolls off the tongue much better that spooky and dark don't you agree?" smiled Daphne.

Shaggy and Scooby look at each other as their shoulders sagged, Scooby gave a little whimper. Daphne paused as something in the distance caught her attention so she took out her binoculars.

"Remember Velma hasn't come out yet" said Fred

"Well would you rather that lot get there first?" said Daphne pointing along the shore. Fred and Shaggy looked through their binoculars and saw a group of robed figures walking towards them, Scooby sniffed the air

"Rits rhem, rhe rones rafter Relma" said Scooby

"Oh boy, I suppose not Daph" muttered Shaggy, shuffling his feet.

"Right, this is the plan. You three go in and look for them. I'll be here and rig up something to pull them out of the way when they come out" said Fred

Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby rushed into the cave and headed straight down the first tunnel. This was a long tunnel it twisted and turned as it snaked into the hill, torch holders were placed along the walls at regular intervals. Finally they came across an open door. The door was metal with a small barred window set at eye hight, there were substantial bolts on the door, only accessible from the outside.

"Not good" said Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby nodded in agreement.

While Scooby stood guard Shaggy and Daphne went inside. There were no torch holders in this room and aside from the few metal rings fixed into the wall the only other object there was, on first inspection, a medium-sized dog-cage. It was made of thick metal with several points on the door to attach padlocks.

"This must be the cage they were talking about yesterday" said Daphne staring in horror at the cage.

"Man Scooby could barely fit in that let alone…"

"And they were planning to keep both Velma and Suki in that for two days? Their last two days were supposed to be spent in that! Those people are _so_ dead if I get my hands on them" Daphne growled angrily, stamping her foot on the floor.

"Well no-one is here so let's try the other tunnels before those robed goons arrive" said Shaggy

Meanwhile in the other room Suki was struggling to free Velma.

"I'm sorry Velma I can't budge them"

"Better go and get help, after all I'm not going anywhere"

"Are you sure, I don't want to leave you like this" Suki took a few steps towards the way out

"To be honest I don't want to be left alone like this but I don't see another option"

"I'll be as quick as I can. Gosh I wish Daphne was here" with that Suki turned for the exit.

"Suki, that's it! I remembered I always keep a 'free Daphne' kit in the bottom of my rucksack"

Suki opened the bottom pocket of Velma's rucksack and took out a purple and orange striped package the size of a large paper-back book with a zip running around the edge. She unzipped the package to reveal some lock picking tools, a multi-tool, some diamond impregnated steel wire, a pair of EMS scissors, a bottle of dry graphite powder lubricant, a small can of synthetic oil, an rubber bag attached to which was attached a short length of tube which ended in a squeezable bulb.

Suki examined the bars trapping Velma with a magnifying glass

"I don't think they are locked shut just stuck."

"Right then, work the bag in the widest gap you can find as far away from the hinge as possible then spray some of the oil on the hinge then pump up the bag."

"Sounds like you've done this before" said Suki as she prepared the required items.

"Oh just once or twice over the years" smiled Velma then added "and to be fair Daphne has had to use it a few times to rescue me and Shaggy as well."

Suki worked the bag in the gap between the two bits of metal the sprayed some lubricant on the hinges. She quickly inflated the bag, they could hear the hinges creak, Suki applied some more lubricant and the restraints opened. Carefully Velma moved her wrists out of them and checked for any cuts while Suki worked to free her ankles. Suki gave a little squeal and jumped out of the way.

"Bother, had the can pointing the wrong way. There's a patch of oil on the floor so be careful when you get down" with that Suki set to work freeing Velma's ankles, a minute later they both breathed a sigh of relief as the bar began to move.

"All done these hinges are really old"

"That's better, getting chained to an altar is more in Daphne's job description. What are you thinking Suki?" said Velma as she sat up rubbing her ankles, Velma paused eyeing Suki's mischievous grin.

"I've just had an idea of what to do to you the next time you forget when it's your turn to do the washing up"

"Anything just as long as it doesn't involve tickling my stomach" said Velma as Suki helped her off the slab. They collected their things and headed out, Velma looked back into the room and felt a chill run down her spine.

"What is it Velma?" said Suki wrapping an arm around her.

"I just want to get out of here; can we get out the quick way?"

"Sure, let's go"

Fred watched with increasing concern as the group of figures grew closer but with no sign of anyone coming out of the tunnel. He was tempted to go in himself when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He ran up the slope and peered over a shrub to see in the distance Suki helping Velma out of a hole in ground next to the roots of a large tree.

"Jinkies Suki you weren't kidding about that rock being unstable"

"Yep, don't think anyone else will be climbing out that way"

"Let's go freshen up then finish that movie"

"But we left the props behind"

"I'm sure we can improvise. What do you think, sepia, black and white or colour?"

"Colour I think"

"Talkies or silent?"

"Seeing how you acted just then, silent"

"Watch it Suki or next time you'll be the one in distress."

Fred breathed a sigh of relief; they were safe but what about the test of the gang? He rushed back to where he had been keeping watch to see the robed figures enter the cave.

"Well she's not down that one" said Daphne looking down the second tunnel"

"Reah" agreed Scooby as he sniffed around.

The trio came across the room recently vacated by Suki and Velma

"They're not here either thank goodness. This must be where they were planning to..." said Daphne unable to finish the sentence.

"But where could they be?"

"Rot rhere rany rore"

"Perhaps they went out through that opening in the second tunnel" said Daphne pacing around and tapping her chin as she thought. A reflection on the floor caught Shaggy's eye.

"Daph! Mind that patch of oil..."

"Waaah!" yelled Daphne as she slipped and fell backwards onto the dais, as she landed on the slab her arms flew over her head. The impact jarred the freshly oiled hinges of the bars which swung closed with a resounding click

"...on the floor" said Shaggy putting his hand over his eyes

"Roh rother rot again" muttered Scooby

Suddenly a group of robed figures entered the room. Both groups stared in surprise at finding each other. Daphne glanced up at Shaggy and saw a smile twitch on his face and found herself relaxing. Over the years she had come to recognise that face. No matter how bleak situation was, that face meant he had a plan. Shaggy straightened himself up and turned to face the crowd while Scooby set to work freeing Daphne.

"We represent the Damsels and Allied Peril Professionals Division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. We're here to check your damsel holding facilities" said Shaggy

"You are?" said one hooded figure

"Yes we're conducting… unannounced inspections" said Daphne looking up, trying to convey as professional demeanour as possible for someone secured to an alter.

"Right let's see the maintenance schedule for these restraints" said Shaggy

"Emm, well they worked a century ago, I'm not sure if we have any…"

Daphne gave the leader a hard stare "What do you mean you don't have them? Look at this; it's rusty with rough edges. Someone could get hurt when locked in these. Someone like me, us damsels have delicate skin don't you know"

Scooby picked the lock and Shaggy was finally able to free Daphne's wrists. Scooby immediately set to work freeing her ankles.

"Well…" said the leader

"I hope you give any damsel you are planning to hold here a tetanus jab afterwards" said Shaggy

"We do plan to cut out her still beating heart; I think a tetanus shot will be unnecessary after that" said an elderly female voice.

"Well before then, can't be too careful. Especially if you look after the knives the same way you do everything else here" said Shaggy. Scooby picked the lock and Daphne sat up then freed her ankles.

"Hmmm OK then we'll sterilize the tools beforehand."

"That's better thought cutting out hearts is a bit old-fashioned in these more enlightened times. And that tiny cage in the dark cell is no longer up to code, you now need to give them room to move, fresh air and daylight" said Daphne

"Oh, emmm..."

"And what were you planning by way of refreshments?"

"Well nothing to be honest with you"

Shaggy and Daphne shook their head and tutted. Shaggy took a notebook from his pocket and made some notes

"This is not good; we could revoke your damsel holding licence for this"

"So we should be going for free-range organic damsels then? What would you suggest we do? The legend is pretty specific trap, cut out heart, show it to victim then place it in the alcove over there."

"Hmmmm, there is a sliding scale of things you can now do, let's see... if I recall correctly the equivalent nowadays is.." Shaggy flicked through his notebook "Ah here it is a mean wedgie. Though we'll have to get it confirmed and get back to you as these premises are not satisfactory" said Shaggy as he Scooby and Daphne headed for the exit "don't do anything till we call" he said as they entered the tunnel

"Do we run?" whispered Daphne as they walked into the tunnel

"No, not just yet" replied Shaggy quietly as they quickened their pace.

"Row?" said Scooby as the sound of a commotion from the room reached their ears, the three of them sprinted for the exit.

"Olly olly oxen free!" shouted Shaggy as the approached the tunnel entrance

As soon as they appeared at the cave entrance Fred pulled on a leaver causing a catapult to fling Shaggy Scooby and Daphne up to where he was. He then pulled on another leave which pulled the support away from a pile of rocks he had placed above the mouth of the cave causing a rock slide and blocking the entrance.

For the rest of the day one member of the gang kept a watch on each of the exits while the others kept a watch on each of the exits while the rest kept an eye on the cabin, Finally as the sun began to set the sound of falling rocks could be heard. The gang got back together to find out what was going to happen.

"That's it! Legend or no legend they both die tonight!" snarled an elderly female voice.


	8. One Of Our Dinkleys Is Missing

"Get them!" screamed the elderly female voice. The rest of the goons ran along the shore towards the cabin "Should have done that earlier" she muttered to herself as she followed after them at a more sedate pace.

"Oh jeepers this is it" said Daphne and the gang ran to the cabin as fast as they could. Their route was shorter but was across country and the two groups arrive at about the same time and before the gang could react a crowd had surrounded the cabin. A group of people went inside but soon reappeared.

"They're gone! All their stuffs still here but we can't find them"

Silently the gang cheered, Shaggy looked down at the cabin, something was missing but he wasn't sure what.

"Well?" said a figure slowly walking up the path from the shore. They pulled back their hood off to reveal the figure of Verity Elms.

"They're not here" said one of the figures

"Don't just stand around find them!" yelled Verity

The goons ran off to the various places that Suki and Velma had visited on their stay. The gang ran after them, the seemed to run over most of the island but there was no sign of Velma and Suki, the gang were now as worried and the goons were desperate, finally when night had fallen they all headed back to the cabin.

"So?" said Verity

"No, we can't see them anywhere"

"I'm not surprised with all the noise you were making. Just be quiet and let me think"

While the goons milled around planning their next move the gang stopped to catch their breath; Shaggy looked up into the clear moonless sky, the soft milky smear of the galactic plane stretched across the night sky.stars than he had ever seen. Velma would love this, he was sure if she had a choice about how to spend her last moments on Earth, staring at such a sight would be one of them, probably with Suki in that hammock... the hammock! That what was odd about the cabin, the hammock was missing.

"Like gang" Shaggy spoke softly, the gang huddled round to listen

"What is it Shag?" said Fred

"Like I don't know exactly where Velma is but I can make a guess. She's in that hammock somewhere out of the way, up a tree or someplace like that where there's a clear view of the sky."

"So?"

"If we find Velma we can pretty much guarantee she'll then be in danger so if we lead these people on a wild goose chase..." Fred and Daphne nodded

"They'll be too busy running after us to actually look for Velma" said Daphne

"And Scooby can make sure that Velma is nowhere near any place we use to stage a distraction" said Fred

"Reah" said Scooby

"I can throw my voice" said Shaggy

"And I can make puppets of them and knock some heads together" said Daphne

"Operation Snowstorm is go" said Fred

"Where the hell could she be?" growled one of the men getting up and pacing around

"She should be ours by now. I don't think she's alone, someone's helping her" said Verity

"Listen" said another holding their hand up for silence

"Jinkies Suki, I think here would be a great place for a late-night picnic" a distant voice came from their right.

"That's her, let's go"

The goons ran in the direction of the voices only to find nobody

"Well I think over here would be better Velma" came a voice further to their right

"That way"

The goons dashed towards the sound only to find themselves tumbling down a slope, which somehow had been covered with grease, towards a pit full of mousetraps.

"Number 15a, gets 'em every time" whispered Fred as he and Shaggy crept away.

"It was a trap. That settles it someone _is_ helping them" said one of the group as they returned to the cabin, occasionally slipping over.

"I don't care, kill them as well! We're running out of time, split up and find them!" screamed Verity. At that three goons went near the shore, three went towards the fossil site and two of them went along a path midway between the others. A short while later the last three followed the pair who had taken the middle path. After a brief discussion the gang also split up and set off after the groups. Fred followed the group near the shore, Shaggy and Scooby followed the two in the middle and Daphne went after the remaining group.

Fred ran ahead as fast as he could, he knew the trap he wanted, no needed to make. He'd dreamt this up when he was in Elementary School but hadn't had the chance to make it, until now. Fred worked like a thing possessed to assemble the mother of all traps. All his year of experience in traps were poured into this. After all this was a trap not to catch a villain but to save a friend. He had just finished putting the finishing touches on the trap when he say the three goon coming along the path. He quickly too up a suitable vantage point and waited. In silence he watched as the goons walked through, activated the trap... and carried on walking.

Fred looked crestfallen as the goons walked away "but, but it had multiple redundancy, fail safes and it was precision built" he whispered.

"We took the wrong path let's head back" he heard them say. He watched them walk back through his trap, when they were in the middle one of them sneezed.

"Bless y-" the goon was cut-off as the trap spring to life.

A spring platform shot up catapulting them into the sky, each was then caught by a spoon shaped piece of wood the size of a small bath which had been catapulted up by a separate platform. They landed on a ramp which guided them individually down to a platform. Each hung on for dear life as the wooden vessel they were in was spun round at high speed. Finally a sprung branch was used to throw them out across the lake when they skipped over the water to land on the opposite shore.

"Glad I remembered the hair-trigger" said Fred as he walked away.

The second set of three were making steady progress along their path, listening out for Velma and Suki.

"Should be at the fossil site soon, they've been there before" said the one in the lead

"Yeah during the day, I don't think they'll be there now" said the one in the middle, just then there was an usual noise from behind him "Watch your step back there. You OK?" there was nobody there anymore. He heart a similar noise from in front of him, he looked around, he was all alone "Hey what's going on?" he looked up to see a purple shape dropping towards him out of the trees. The next thing he saw was stars before it all went black.

Two of the goons were looking through the woods, hoping that the others had flushed out their quarry. They were looking out for signs that the girls had come this way when they noticed a piece of paper on the ground

"What's this?" said one up the paper.

"Its a flyer for the 'Look-Alike Missing Persons Service'"

"There's another" said the first; they walked forward and picked up another piece of paper. They both gathered round to read "'try our finding service for free, today only'"

"Greetings sirs, I see you've found our promotional literature"

"Reah romotional riterature"

The two goons looked up and saw two people in sharp business suits standing before them. Above them was a sign which said 'Look-Alike Missing Persons Service.'

"This way gentleman and be seated" Shaggy and Scooby guided the pair to a pair of chairs in front of a mirror.

"Remember rotally ree roday" said Scooby

"So what is this all about?" said one of the goons as they sat down.

"Re-enactment!" said Shaggy holding onto their shoulders and putting his head between theirs "The best way to find missing people is to jog the memories of others. You do that by staging a re-enactment using a look-a-like."

"Yeah, that makes sense, I've seen that done on TV" said the other goon

"Well now, who are you looking for today?"

"These two" said the first handing Shaggy a picture of Velma and Suki, obviously taken not long after their arrival.

"I see. So, what we have to do is this..." and with that Shaggy and Scooby set about making the goons appear to look like Velma and Suki.

"Hey, its them" said the goons when the pair were finally finished.

"Perfect, now get out there and jog people's memories, remember make it real, lives are at stake!" said Shaggy dramatically.

"Reah reak" said Scooby licking his lips.

"So go, go, go!" and with that Shaggy and Scooby ushered the goons down along the path. A few minutes later they were rewarded with the sound of a loud and above all angry confrontation.

"It's working but I can't keep this up forever" said Shaggy after they had regrouped at the cabin.

"Me neither Shag" said Fred

"You said it" said Daphne

"So what do we do?" said Velma

"The cave, if we can get them back in there then we can block them in again"

"If they don't?" said Daphne

"Then we can block the cave, even if they get hold of Velma, they can't get to that alter" said Fred.

"They're not going to be fooled by thrown voices anymore" said Shaggy.

"I think its puppet time" said Daphne

"Rello Raggy re're Relma and Ruki" said Scooby as he worked the life-sized puppets of Velma and Suki which Daphne had just finished..

"And I'm on a roll. I've got the perfect plan" said Fred as they all huddled round to listen.

"We've found them!" said Goon running up the cabin where Verity was sitting on a bench waiting for news.

"More tricks?"

"No, we've seen them. They've just gone into the cave. It looks like they are going to spend the rest of the night there."

"Are you sure you've seen them?" said Verity getting up

"Yep, I've seen them myself; me and the others saw them walk in"

"Let's go then"

The goons all assembled at the cave entrance, determined to no let their quarry get away from them this time. Suddenly Suki almost tumbled out of the entrance.

"Please, please help I was making a little film with a friend, we were messing around with an altar that we found. Now she's chained to it, I can't free her! Please help!"

The goons grinned at each other; finally things were going their way. Two of them reached inside their coat pockets, Suki backed away in panic.

"No, no stay away you've got guns!" said Suki and she turned and ran for the waterline. The two goons opened fired with silenced weapons hitting Suki multiple times in the back. She fell face down in the water and floated away. Satisfied they went down into the cave with Verity leading the way.

They rushed to the room where they came across Velma just as Suki described.. She was secured to the altar; a thick cloth had been tied round her mouth and another around her eyes. She was making an angry humming noise but wasn't moving. Without a even a nod to ceremony Verity took out an ornate dagger, cut Velma's clothes open, raised the knife above her head then plunged it into Velma's chest as hard as she could. It struck with a hollow 'thunk' and embedded itself in an inch or so and stuck fast. The sound of Velma's angry humming increased in volume.

"What the? It's a dummy!" snarled Verity

She yanked on the knife, it came away taking the chest panel with it to reveal the source of the humming.

"Hornets!" cried the goons

They ran down the tunnel towards the entrance only to see it blocked by another landslide.

After that the gang kept an active watch over the two possible exits finally the sky began to lighten. They returned to the remains of their camp-site and packed up. They returned to the area above the mouth of the cave. As the sun rose, the gang slumped against the trees, exhausted but triumphant. They had succeeded, the danger had passed, Velma was safe.

High up in an ancient oak tree in a hammock strung between a pair of sturdy branches, Velma and Suki lay wrapped up in green fleece blankets. They too were enjoying the sunrise as the finale to a night star gazing.

"Spectacular" Suki sighed

"Yeah what a sunrise. Suppose we'd better get back and pack-up before we go sailing"

"Just five more minutes before we go" said Suki as she rolled over and closed her eyes. Velma joined her and soon both were asleep.

Having finally descended from the tree and collected all their gear the girls walked slowly back to their cabin.

"Y'know I'm looking forward to going back home. We need to be ready for the Sunday night bowling" said Velma

"Yeah Daphne's counting on us" said Suki in all seriousness.

"And to meet that friend of yours"

"Don't worry Velma, you'll do fine"

Velma stopped and picked up a small object from the ground.

"Suki, look at this, a Scooby Snack. A fairly fresh one at that" said Velma holding the snack in her hand.

"Well there must be someone other than Shaggy and Scooby who likes them" said Suki

"For sure, they ship all over the world but I've never actually met anyone other than those two who will own up to eating them."

At the cabin they packed away their things, tided the cabin then loaded up the golf cart and headed for reception.

"Hello?" said Velma as she entered reception

"Oh hi Ms Dinkley" said Grant appearing from behind the counter "sailing is it?"

"Yes, can we leave our stuff here? We didn't want to have to rush back to the cabin after sailing."

"Sure, leave it behind the counter. How was the cabin?"

"Thanks Grant. This place is great, and that cabin was just beautiful. You all alone I wanted to thank Mrs Elms for giving us that upgrade?" said Velma as she and Suki carried in their luggage.

"That's good to hear. It's just me and the cook at the moment, I don't know where anyone else is. Anyway let's get you both afloat."

"This is easier than rowing" said Velma as they headed away from the mooring

"Oh sure, provided we don't need to turn around. You do know how to sail back don't you?"

Velma paused and scribbled some equations on a piece of paper then looked up "In principle, yes"

For the next couple of hours they happily sailed around the lake. At one point they went past their cabin and along the nearby shoreline.

"Jinkies! Suki look over there" said Velma as the pointed towards the shore

"What? I can't see anything"

"There's been a rock slide where that cave was. Looks pretty blocked up to me."

"I said it was unstable but I didn't think it was that unstable"

As Velma and Suki approached the jetty Grant rushed to assist them in mooring the boat then helped then carry their luggage to the jetty to await the boat. Both Velma and Suki showered him with hugs, praise and a generous tip for his trouble. Velma asked him to pass on her thanks to Verity for the upgrade which he said he would do. He returned to reception as the boat approached the jetty to await the next load of visitors.

The gang were sitting near the blocked cave entrance; they'd seen Velma and Suki sail past a few times, though Daphne had refused to watch after seeing them the first time, before returning to pick up their gear and catch the lunch-time boat to the mainland.

"Right, we'll get the next boat then head home, we should still get back before them. Even if we don't we can pick up some take-away along the way and make it look like we just went to get some food" said Fred

"Good plan Fred; we deserve a bit of a rest" said Daphne

"Can we just get some food on the way" said Shaggy

Their musings were interrupted by the sound of falling rocks below. They peered over the edge to see people stagger out of the cave entrance along with the occasional disorientated hornet.

"We're too late" said one of the goons as they saw the daylight

"I don't care about the legend, just do whatever you want with them then kill them. I want revenge" growled Verity

"Break-time's over gang" whispered Fred as they got up and followed the goons

Grant was doing some paper work when a puffy-faced Verity rushed in looked at the list of those people who had checked out and boarded the boat. She gave an exasperated growl and left without saying a word.

The gang followed Verity; it was clear that Velma and Suki were safely on the boat but wanted to know what was they were planning.

"We've been here before" said Shaggy as he pointed to a small cove where the boat they had sabotaged was moored and nearby to where their beached submarine could just be seen.

"Good job we sabotaged that boat" said Shaggy, Scooby pointed down and drew their attention to the activity below. It looked like the boat was being made ready to leave.

"Why are they getting on board then?" said Daphne

"They've fixed the boat!" said Shaggy as they head the engine and saw a plume of smoke rise from the boat's exhaust. With that Verity get on board then the boat slipped from its moorings.

"No. This just isn't fair" whispered Fred as they watched the other boat leave.


	9. 20000 Jeepers Under The Sea

"Come on Freddie" said Shaggy as he and Scooby propelled Fred and Daphne towards their beached submarine. They quickly got the vessel in the water and, after spending a few minutes coaxing Daphne out of a nearby tree, they set off in pursuit of the boat. Fred and Shaggy provided the power. Daphne looked through the periscope and steered while Scooby plugged the leaks before Daphne saw them.

"We're near the shore, slow down!" shouted Daphne

"Aim for the slope" said Fred

"OK Freddie but why?"

"Flank Speed!" said Shaggy

"Find a parking spot Daph" said Fred

Fred and Shaggy pedalled as fast as they could, the craft hit the beach with a bone-jarring thud and bounced into the air rode up the beach. They all yelled as they were bounced around inside and Daphne tried to control the craft. After a few seconds of pure terror they came to a halt neatly parked next to the Mystery Machine.

"Can I park or what?" said Daphne

"Daph?" said Shaggy

"Yeah"

"We're upside down"

"Apart from that"

They clambered out of the remains of the submarine and ran to the Mystery Machine

"We need to stop those cars" said Daphne as she spotted a convoy of four cars heading for the highway.

"I know I can slide across the hood like they do on TV to save time" said Fred and he launched himself through the air and landed in a heap in front of the Mystery Machine "Heh, forgot that the Mystery Machine doesn't have a hood" said Fred as he picked himself up.

They piled into the Mystery Machine and headed after the cars.

"We need to get them to follow us, but how?" said Fred

"Leave it to me, you just get past them" said Daphne

While Fred caught up with the cars Daphne rummaged around in the back of the Mystery Machine amongst the old newspapers and magazines that they never cleared out. She gave a little whoop and held one against the back window as they drove past the cars. A couple of bullets whistled past them. Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby hit the deck.

"Well I got their attention" said Daphne

"D'ya think! What did you do?" said Shaggy

"Remember when Velma won 'Spectacle Wearer of the Year' two years ago? This is from the magazine article they did on her" said Daphne holding up the magazine. Fred drove the Mystery Machine onto a road that headed away from the direction that led to home. Daphne held the magazine against the window again and peeked over to make sure that the cars followed them, they did

"Right Freddie they're following us, now what?" said Daphne

"Emmm, hadn't thought that far ahead"

Daphne began sorting through her bags and in various compartments of the Mystery Machine. Soon she had collected all of her make-up and accessories together.

"Well I'd been saving this for an emergency, I guess now might count as one. Shaggy got your catapult?"

"As ever" said Shaggy reaching into a cubbyhole and retrieving his catapult.

"Do we still have those party balloons?"

"Yep" he said getting some from his party supplies.

They emptied the nail varnish into balloons and squirted a small amount of hairspray into each one.

"OK Freddie, let them get close" said Daphne. Fred slowed down till the lead car was a few feet away.

"Now!" said Daphne as they opened the back door. Shaggy fired the balloons at the lead car's windscreen as fast as he could. While he was doing this Daphne plugged in one of her most powerful hair-dryers. As soon as Shaggy had finished firing Daphne turned on her hair-dryer and began emptying compact after compact in front of it. The powder flew out and began to stick to the lead car's windscreen. Shaggy and Scooby took a bottle of talcum powder each and emptied them in front of the hair-dryer. A white plume erupted from the back of the Mystery Machine. When it was all gone the lead car was covered in talc, the windscreen completely obscured. A few seconds later it veered off the road and crashed into a ditch.

"We're not done yet Shag" said Daphne. As Shaggy and Scooby closed the van doors they could see the second car rapidly close on them. Together the three of them bent the assorted hairpins, grips and combs into odd angular shapes. When they were done they opened the back doors again and emptied the devices on the ground. The lead car veered out of the way but the car directly behind didn't see what was happening so ran directly into the devices. Almost immediately its front tyres deflated and it too careered of the road.

"Glad I took that 'Caltrops for Beginners' course at night school" said Daphne

"Daph can we borrow all of your hairdryers" said Shaggy

"What, all of them?"

"Yep, even the one with the super-turbo option that you've never used"

"OK, but why?"

"We're baking a cake"

"A what? How's that gonna help?"

"A _rock_ cake Daph, kindergarten style"

Daphne watched as Shaggy and Scooby emptied the ingredients into an empty rucksack which they then wrapped in tin-foil. They pointed all the hair-dryers at the rucksack and turned them on to maximum temperature. "Ring!" said Scooby a few minutes later. With much effort they emptied the cake out of the rucksack then turned the hair-dryers on the cake again to finish off the outside. They stopped just before the inside of the they, and the inside of the Mystery Machine, were about to melt. They opened the back door and pushed the rock-cake out. It buried itself in the road and stuck up like a bollard. The following car struck the rock cake head-on. The car stopped instantly, the front deforming round the cake before the momentum carried the car up and over cake. It sailed through the air for a few seconds before it landed on its roof and skidded off the road.

"Just like we said kindergarten style" said Shaggy as they closed the van doors.

"We did it Freddie, they're all gone" said Daphne as she Shaggy and Scooby sat down. They had just relaxed when they were rammed from behind. Daphne and Shaggy looked out of the back windows to see a mean-looking SUV with privacy glass. It rammed them again and a small piece of the Mystery Machine fell away.

"I've got this one!" said Fred and he floored the accelerator. They drove bumper-to-bumper, swerving and weaving round the roads and past cars. Daphne and Shaggy hoped Fred knew what he was doing and where he was going, especially when he appeared to be heading straight for a billboard by the side of the road.

"Hang on!" shouted Fred

Suddenly the Mystery Machine pulled over and screeched to a halt inches from the billboard, the SUV shot past caught out by Fred's sudden manoeuvre. Seconds later two police cars pulled out from behind the billboard and set off in pursuit of the SUV. Everyone looked at Fred in amazement.

"Speed trap" he said trying not to get too smug

"How did you know man?" asked Shaggy loudly trying to be hear over the sound of his heart hammering away.

"The Mystery Machine's GPS system also warns you speed traps"

They set off again and soon drove past the SUV, it having been pulled over by the police. Daphne held the magazine with Velma's picture on out of the window, letting the goons know they had been duped into following them. A short distance down the road they pulled over to find out what the SUV was going to do.

"We did it!" the gang jumped up and celebrated at the sight of the SUV heading back the way it came. Scooby caught Shaggy's attention.

"Hate to break up the party but we need to get back before the girls" said Shaggy as they got back into the Mystery Machine. Fred drove down the road as fast as the speed limit would allow as they didn't have time to get pulled over.

"They're hours ahead of us we need to drive back the way we came, we'll never catch them up" said Daphne, she turned to look at Fred who gave her a wicked grin "oh no you don't. Freddie!" Daphne hung onto the side of the van for support as Fred floored the accelerator and turned off the main road onto a rough dirt track second later they were careering down a steep slope while Shaggy and Scooby bounced around in the back trying to find something to hold onto.

"I know a short-cut!" he yelled over their screams of terror.

Verity slumped in her chair in her office where there were two letters awaiting her. She opened the first; it was from the IRS, it was a simple tax demand asking the Elmes' for 100 years back taxes. _On the whole it could have been a lot worse _as she opened the second letter. It was also from the IRS saying they would like to discuss the taxes for the century before that. Both amounts due came, of course, with accumulated interest.

A battered Mystery Machine pulled into the driveway of Mystery Inc headquarters. As it stopped steam erupted from the radiator and the tyres deflated. The doors fell off as Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby dragged themselves out of the van, they shuffled inside and collapsed in various chairs. Fred threw the paperwork from the case on the table in front of him.

"Get something for Velma and Suki, they'll be here soon. Remember everyone act natural when they come in" muttered Fred, his eyelids beginning to drop.

Shaggy summoned the energy to lift the phone and order a take-away "Thank goodness it's on speed-dial. Yi, its Shag, like emergency orders one and two, yeah it's that bad... like with all the pancake rolls you have, and those steamed dumplings that Suki likes."

"One _and_ two?" said Daphne

"Like I'm not doing _any_ cooking tomorrow either" said Shaggy

"Good point" she replied

Shaggy had barely put the phone down when the sound of another car pulling up could be heard outside. The gang tried to sit up straight and make as if nothing much had happened. Seconds later Velma and Suki walked in through the door. Velma looked the picture of health, her eyes sparked and her back was straight as she bounded in the room.

"Hi gang, we're back!" exclaimed Velma

"We brought you presents" said Suki as she followed in behind

"Gee thanks you two" said Daphne as she tried to wake herself up.

Velma and Suki carried in the goodies and placed them on the table. Velma paused and stared at the material left on the table.

"You had a case near the lake?" said Velma looking through the literature on the table

"Errr yeah you could say that" replied Fred

"Well thank you for not telling me. That was really thoughtful of you all."

"Like no worries Velma" said Shaggy absent-mindedly waving his hand at Velma

"After the case you should have dropped by and said hi it would have been lovely to have seen you all" Velma sighed and paused for a second "You know gang I think that place might just be the mystery free holiday spot we've been looking for all these years and boy do you all look like you need a holiday."


End file.
